Eventide
by Scyphi
Summary: Her name is Adah Eventide. This the tale of how she got where she is now. And how she came to be punished so... tag to "Warrior of Redwall" please R&R!
1. Wot's Yer Story?

Summary: Her name is Adah Eventide. This the tale of how she got where she is now. And how she came to be punished so...

Rating: T (for blood, violence, conspiracy, etc.)

First off, I must say the following: If you have not yet read the fanfic "Warrior of Redwall" then DO NOT READ THIS FANFIC until you have done so. I repeat, DO NOT READ THIS FANFIC. Doing otherwise would ruin...well...everything for "Warrior of Redwall", so go read it FIRST. Go on, go. I mean it now. Don't make me use force!

Okay, so I can't really do anything to keep you from reading this in whatever order YOU want. And I suppose you can choose to read one fanfic or the other, you don't necessarily HAVE to read them both. But it'd be great if you did. In order, too, with "Warrior of Redwall" first.

Now, for those of you who have already read "Warrior of Redwall", you can skip all of the above, and go ahead and start reading. This fanfic is essentially "Warrior of Redwall", retold entirely from the point of view of Adah Eventide. it originally started out as a oneshot, but grew to be...shall we say...a little long? Like, 109 pages long? Yeah, kind of long for a oneshot. So I've reluctantly turned it to a short multi-chap fic. Totals to 24 chpts. It's already completely written, but because I'm being a meanie, and because it's tradition, I'm only going to post one chapter every week. So you have to _wait _for the rest of the story. :P

Anyway, I think that's everything I've got to say that's really relevant to you lot, so enjoy. :)

Eventide

1.

"Wot's Yer Story?"

There didn't seem to be anything spectacular about the traveling stoat.

He was abnormally short for a member of his species, and walked with both a limp and a hunch, leaning heavily on a carved, wooden, staff he made himself. He seemed frail, and obviously couldn't move very fast. He was also getting on in seasons, his age showing through his graying fur and wrinkling flesh as well as a droopy tail. At a first glance, there didn't seem to be anything special about him as one would watch him shuffle through the woodlands.

But that was exactly what the stoat prided himself on. He may not be much overall physically, but mentally was quite another story. He was also quite observant. So he knew almost right away when he was being watched by a creature hidden somewhere in the depths of the woods. A little while later, he also knew straightaway that he was being followed by the same creature. As he walked for awhile, he debated as to what the creature's intent might be. He figured at first that the beast's motives probably involved theft and a bloody beating, but after awhile, when the following creature made no such moves, the stoat ruled it out. If that had been the case, the creature would've acted by now.

Eventually, he figured that the creature was another traveler like him, easily evidenced by his or her cloak that covered their body and other distinguishing features. The creature was just simply too shy to come forward and announce its presence, but probably was lonely at the same time and longed for company regardless. So it settled for this discreet following, unaware that its presence had already been detected.

The stoat's solution to the matter, however, was a simple one. He continued his journeying for the rest of the afternoon, more or less ignoring his unexpected shadow during all of this time, until the day started to draw to a close, and the stoat settled down to make camp in a small clearing only a few paces wide. He started a fire, then pulled off his haversack, pulled out some food and stuck it on a stick, and started to roast it over the fire, sitting calmly on a nearby log. All while the mysterious creature watched from afar, hidden in the darkening shadows of the surrounding woods.

Finally, without looking in the creature's direction, the stoat acknowledged it's presence. "So, are yeh goin' t' be standin' out there all evenin', or are yeh feelin' up t' joinin' me?"

For a long moment, nothing happened. The stoat was just about to address the creature again when the mysterious beast finally peeked out cautiously from the edge of the woodlands, looking hesitantly towards the little camp. It made no further movements forward, but it was something for the stoat to build off of.

"Well, c'mon, then." He said, motioning for the creature to come with one paw. "If it's food yeh want, I got food t' spare."

When the creature still made no movements to join him, the elderly stoat pulled out another biscuit from his sack, stuck it on another stick, then tossed it over the fire to rest it against a nearby rock that sat on the other side of the fire from him. Another moment passed with nothing happening, but then finally the mysterious creature ventured forward and approached the food cautiously. It wrapped its cloak tightly around its body, almost all but concealing itself from apparently unwanted eyes, but the sight of the long snout that peeked out from under the hood, it's tall height, and the tip of the tail that trailed behind the creature was sight enough for the stoat to deduce it was a fox.

The creature arrived at the rock where the food was propped up on it's stick, and looked at it for a moment. It made eye contact briefly with the stoat, then gingerly pulled the food off the stick with one paw, and started nibbling at it. It started to turn and go, but the stoat wouldn't stand for it.

"No, no, sit down, rest yer tail an' make yerself comfortable." He urged, motioning to the rock.

The fox was hesitant for a moment. "I do not wish to intrude," it stated in a quiet, reluctant, but sweet, grammatically correct, voice that said a great deal about the creature, but above all, revealed the creature's gender.

"Yeh ain't intrudin', 'sides I could use th' company." The stoat persisted, and again motioned to the rock.

The vixen glanced at it for a moment, then hesitantly and carefully sat herself upon it, as if afraid the boulder would suddenly bite her tail off. When it obviously became clear this would not be the case, she relaxed a little, and curled her slender legs up in front of her, wrapping one paw around her knees while she used the other to continue nibbling at the biscuit she had been given. She kept going until it was all gone.

The stoat tossed her another. "There yeh go," he said, then moved the subject to other matters, "They call me Grump, by th' way."

The vixen glanced at him, looking puzzled, as she nibbled on the second biscuit. "Why Grump?" she asked.

"I dunno. Certainly ain't because I'm grumpy," The stoat muttered. He looked at the fox expectantly for a few moments, then when it became clear she wasn't getting the hint, asked, "Wot's yer name?"

The vixen was silent for a very long moment, clearing debating with herself, before she gave the curt answer.

"Adah."

* * *

They spent the next several moments eating in silence, since it was clear that the vixen didn't really wish to speak. Which Grump actually found a bit surprising. He fully expected her to be just brimming with questions, like who he was, why he was out here, where he was going, and why his food seemed to be composed of only biscuits, berries, and a block of cheese, with no meat, unlike the supplies of most vermin in these parts (the answer to the latter was simple: sometimes for a traveling hermit like Grump, it was just easier to stick with biscuits, berries, and a block of cheese). He thought that once it was clear that he had no intention of hurting her, Adah would've loosened the tongue she had been keeping remarkably quiet during all of this.

But the more he studied her during this long moment of silence, the more questions he got about her that really started to drive the other matters on his mind aside. The first one was the obvious question as to why she was so quiet, but any number of things could account for that. The next thing he noticed was that once Adah had more or less warmed up to her situation, she started eating better, and would accept and devour whatever Grump handed her with a polite gusto. This revealed that the vixen was terribly hungry. And the fact that she didn't seem to have any supplies at all to call her own, it seemed understandable as to why. And even more, her slender frame, her delicate body, her above-ordinary clothing that she wore under the cloak as well as her very persona just didn't fit nor suited with the traveling lifestyle she seemed to be pursuing as of late.

What was this beautiful creature doing so far out in the middle of nowhere, then?

When they had finished the meal, Grump reached into his sack again and pulled out two wooden cups and a canteen. Setting the cups beside him on the log, he uncorked the container, and started pouring the liquid inside into the cups.

Adah perked up a little at this, and finally ventured to speak again. "Water?" she inquired hopefully.

"Even better." Grump remarked with a grin, replacing the cork into the canteen and returning it to it's sack. "Sumthin' with a bit more kick. Ale."

Adah accepted a glace from the stoat and peered into it at it's contents. "What kind of ale?"

"I dunno. It's just ale, an' that's all I care about." Grump downed the contents of his glass in one go, making a self-satisfied sigh afterwards.

Adah more carefully sipped at the unknown drink, and was ultimately glad that she did, because the drink did indeed have quite a bit of "kick" to it. As Grump poured himself another drink, and watched Adah daintily sip her drink, he finally asked the question.

"So wot's yer story?" he asked, innocently enough.

Adah suddenly gagged on her drink, not the most ideal thing to do, considering it's strength. "Excuse me?" she gasped, after a moment of coughing.

"Wot's yer story?" Grump repeated, innocently enough. "Everybeast's got 'un if they're out 'ere." He set his glass down. "Fer instance, me story is that I got t' travelin' around 'cause I was never really a creature t' settle down an' 'ave an ordinary life, y'see? Wasn't really wanted in any hordes either, so I decided t' just 'ead out an' explore this crazy world we live in. Been travelin' ever since."

"Ah," Adah remarked, acknowledging that she had listened, then fell silent again.

"So wot about yeh?" Grump persisted. "Gotta be a reason yer out 'ere." Adah did not comment, so he continued. "In fact, it's kinda surprisin' t' see a creature like yeh out 'ere, travelin' like yeh are." Another pause, which Adah again did not take advantage of. "How far are yeh goin'?"

"I don't know." Adah admitted finally under Grump's badgering. "Nor do I know how far I have traveled already."

"Well, it can't 'ave been far, seein' that yeh don't seem t' 'ave any supplies."

"I've been living off the land as I go along."

Grump snorted. "That ain't a very good way to live."

"No, there have been several days during which I have gone hungry."

"Like t'day?"

"Yes."

"Well, how long have yeh been doin' that?"

"Since I left home."

"An' when was that?"

"Late last spring."

Now Grump spluttered on his drink. "Last spring? But that was a whole season ago! Autumn's nearly upon us! Wot th' devil do yeh think yeh're doin', vixen?"

"Look!" Adah suddenly snapped, springing to her footpaws, suddenly not looking so calm and innocent, "I'm out here because I made a choice that I am, unfortunately, living to regret! Good seasons, by all accounts, I should be _dead _now!"

"Dead?" Grump repeated, and was suddenly sobered to the situation. "Wot, were yeh chased out of yer home?"

Adah sat grumpily down on her rock. "I suppose you could say that," she mumbled darkly, "This is my punishment, at any rate."

"Punishment?" a pause, "Wot 'appened?"

Adah glanced in his direction. "It is a very long tale."

"It's not like we're pressed fer time now. 'Sides, I'm admittedly curious now."

"It is not a happy tale."

"I've probably 'eard of worse, though." Grump looked at her for a moment. "If yeh don't want t' tell me, I suppose I can't make yeh."

Adah was silent for a very long moment, clearly debating the idea. Grump was just about the decide that she wasn't going to tell him, and was about to reluctantly drop the matter, when Adah, unexpectedly, made her choice.

"I suppose I should start at the beginning, then," she commented, repositioning herself on the rock to be more comfortable, "If you really want to hear the tale. But mind you, there is a very good reason I'm reluctant to." She sighed. "Anyway, it all began early last winter…"


	2. This Can't Be Right

And here's chapter two, and the official beginning of Adah's tale (the first chapter was more introductory). Spends most of it's time setting the scene for what's coming. If you've read "Warrior of Redwall," it's a bit of a refresher. If you haven't read "WOR" then you shouldn't really being reading this, but seeing I can't really do anything to stop you, it's so you're not lost. :)

2.

"This Can't Be Right"

It was a cold winter in Angola that season, but not unbearably so, and regardless, it had been a very wet winter, with thick and heavy snowfalls that piled up everywhere, blanketing the land with it's icy grip. It was actually a very healthy winter, which every Angolian had come to identify as meaning a lush and prosperous summer to follow once all the wet snow melted. The winter was of the kind where you would expect all of the little one to be out playing in the snow, making snow creatures, throwing snowballs, and making patterns in the pristine surface.

But currently, there were few creatures about outside, no more than those who felt it absolutely necessary to go out. There had been an outbreak of the flu spreading all throughout the land, infecting many. So the rest who weren't out were staying home, either to try and protect themselves, or were simply too ill to head out. Fortunately, the illness was nothing too serious; most were simply bedridden for about a week, then would bounce back like nothing had happened. It also wasn't the first outbreak of the flu that Angola had seen, so many had enough experience to know how to treat it.

It was just that the flu was spreading so rapidly…in the first few days, a reported two score of creatures were ill, with another score to rapidly follow in just a few more days. To try and keep it from spreading, everyone started staying home, which helped slow the spread, but wasn't altogether stopping it, unfortunately. The Angolian village of mice that rested in the valley, in the shadow of the nearby mountain range, had been hit the hardest, but now the plague was making it's way up the mountainside to where Midnight Castle resided, perched on it's ledge, where the higher class of foxes resided.

Foxes like Adah Eventide.

The vixen had been lucky enough to escape getting the plague right now, but at times she wondered if it would last. She supposed that sooner or later, she would succumb to the disease as well, and be in for a rough week. But the important thing was that she wasn't ill now, and was free to go about her business as she pleased. And today, she decided that she wasn't going to let the more sullen attitude the spreading flu had brought about put a damper on her day.

So, after having a healthy breakfast, she started through the corridors of Midnight Castle, searching for a creature very close and dear to her heart. Kani Fennix. The two went back quite a ways, to the point that they had both been born and raised in this castle, and over the seasons, had become very close. The only real difference between them was that Kani was of royal blood, and an heir to the throne, whereas Adah had nothing of the sort; she was simply a lucky vixen who had the honor of getting to live in the castle with royalty. That, and the fact she was a fox, which played a large factor in the matter.

As in this society of classes, foxes ruled.

And Kani fit that description quite literally, as he was next in line to rule, followed by his younger brother, Hax. Although Kani was never too pleased with that prospect. He knew it was his duty, and that he would someday have to cross that bridge, but he hoped to put it off for as long as possible. Few knew this, but Adah, being as close as she was to Kani, of course did and respected Kani's opinions, although she was personally of the opinion that Kani would make for a great lord one day.

Unfortunately, they were now putting that matter to the test. The previous autumn, the current ruler of Angola as well as Kani and Hax's dear sweet mother, Lady Grinta Fennix, had fallen ill to the point that she was bedridden, and too weak to continue her duties. And as time passed, Lady Grinta didn't grow worse in her condition, but she didn't grow better either. No one, not even the castle's best healer, Bluejay, was quite sure what it was that plagued her. Some speculated that it might have had something to do with the natural death of Lord Jarren last spring, which, while not unexpected, it was still an unpleasant blow to all, Lady Grinta, Jarren's wife, included. Perhaps the illness was somehow interconnected.

Whatever the case, with Lady Grinta ill, Kani assumed responsibility for her duties in her stead, being the next in line to rule. The new responsibilities combined with the seriousness of his mother's illness was very rough on the poor fox, not helped by the fact he was not keen by the idea of ruling for any length of time. He sincerely hoped it would only be temporary, but as time dragged on, and with Lady Grinta not improving, that seemed more and more unlikely. It was very depressing at times for poor Kani.

Which was where Adah currently fit into the picture. Just being around Kani cheered him up immensely, and since Adah liked seeing him so cheerful, she tried to be around him as much as could be permitted. With Kani's new duties as acting lord, it was sometimes difficult, but they both managed. Besides, she liked being around Kani, anyway. She felt quite strongly for the fox, after all. And so, like many mornings previous, she was seeking him out.

He was proving to be rather illusive, however, which was unusual. It wasn't usually this hard to track him down. Kani was a bit of a creature of habit. He'd arise at the usual time, head down and dine, visit with friends for a little bit afterwards, then withdraw away into his room or wherever needed to do his work, leaving again for lunch before going back again, coming out again in the evening for more socialization. At least, that was how it was in a nutshell. But today seemed to be an exception, as Kani had already strayed from his usual routine, it seemed.

At first, Adah thought maybe Kani had been pulled aside to help a party from the royal guard out, who have lately been in charge of clearing snow from paths for safer and easier travel, and was busy doing that, but when she turned up at the entrance hall in time to see the royal guard depart for their morning snow-clearing responsibilities, she only found the usual guard members and Kani's younger brother Hax like always.

But if anybeast would know Kani's whereabouts, Hax would.

"Hax!" she quickly hailed the younger fox just before he headed out, and quickly hurried down the steps to join him, "Is Kani helping you today?"

Hax shook his head and moved some of the fabrics he was bundled up with to keep warm so to speak clearly, "No, Mistress Adah, he isn't here." He replied politely, like he always did, "He usually isn't. You know that."

"I know, but I can't seem to find him anywhere in this plaguing castle," Adah muttered in frustration, shivering as a cold gust from outside blew in through the still-open front door, as if calling Hax out to where he was needed.

Hax knew he was needed out there too, but he was never one to turn down a creature in need of help, no matter how small. Kani and Hax were both great creatures, but whatever Kani was not, Hax likely was. He seemed to be everywhere, helping anyone and everyone as he saw fit, and was friendly to everyone, no matter what kind of relations he might have with said creature. He was also a warrior in training, and was, according to Kani's glowing reports about the matter, exceeding remarkably there, albeit a bit recklessly at times. Not that it mattered. Hax had a very good heart, and always seemed to know the best way to handle things, while also maintaining the peace.

So it was to no surprise that he motioned to the straggling members of the royal guard who had paused to see if Hax would come to go on without him, and pulled Adah to one side to discuss the matter.

"Wasn't he at breakfast?" Hax asked, brow furrowed in puzzlement already.

"No, and he wasn't at any of the usual places you'd find him at during this time of morning." Adah added.

Hax frowned, and rubbed at his chin for a moment, deep in thought. "Have you tried his bedchambers?" he asked, innocently enough.

Adah blinked, however, "No, of course not." She said. And rightfully so. The idea of her visiting Kani in private in his bedchambers sounded so…immoral. Undeniably she loved Kani, yes, but while she was certain Kani shared some of those emotions, she wasn't sure as of yet to what degree, and if they matched her own, and besides, they were both respectable creatures in this castle with their own duties and ideals to be examples of, plus Kani was a creature of power. If the idea that she and Kani were…well…even if it was only a rumor…it wasn't a good idea.

Hax seemed to realize this a moment too late, yet another sign of his good natured mind, "No, no, I don't mean anything like that, of course," He said quickly in his own defense, "But if you can't find Kani anywhere else, then I can only assume that something either happened to him, which seems unlikely, or he's for some reason still sound asleep in his bed," He shrugged, "it seems logical to me to just check. Look, all you have to just knock and ask if he's there. No entrance needed."

Again, another innocent comment, but it made Adah flush red to hear it anyway as it became clear just how much Hax's thoughts were mirroring her own, when they really shouldn't. It drew a grin from the young fox, however, who probably knew as well as she did how close she was to Kani.

"Have a good morning, Mistress Adah," he said in conclusion, clapped her on the shoulder, then hurried out of the castle to catch up with the departed royal guard.

* * *

In the end, Adah followed Hax's advice, because his logic was sound, and Adah didn't really have any better ideas. So, reluctantly, she headed up to where Kani's bedchambers were located, consciously of every creature she passed no matter how insignificant, and wondered what they might think of her doing this. When she arrived at her destination, however, she found the door to Kani's room propped open giving one a free view of the room, so Adah cautiously peered into the room.

Kani was definitely here all right, and as his brother had predicted, he was still in bed, not even having changed out his bedclothes yet. But he also wasn't alone, either. The healer vixen, Bluejay, was also present, standing nearby working at concocting what appeared to be medicine in a bowl. It wasn't hard to put two with two after that, but Adah got an explanation anyway when Kani spied her peeking around the doorframe.

"Adah!" he croaked in a raspy voice, "Good, I'm glad you're here, because besides Bluejay, no one else here knows of my condition."

"You caught the flu?" Adah guessed a little anticlimactically.

Kani nodded, "That obvious?" he asked with a weak grin.

"Kind of. You look terrible."

"For good reason, too, I daresay," Bluejay agreed, finishing with her medicine and approaching Adah to give her the details, "He woke up with the trademark aches and pains in his body that are a sign of the flu, quickly followed by a fever, headache, and some coughing. Also has experienced some nausea, but he's managed to keep it under control thus far."

"I'm sorry to hear that, I know the flu is no fun to…" Adah suddenly trailed off, wrinkling her snout and making a funny face as she caught whiff of a very unusual scent as Bluejay approached her, and suddenly clamped a paw over her nose as the smell rapidly grew more intense, "Oh, plagues and pestilence, what _is _that _smell_?"

"Huh?" Bluejay remarked, blanking out for a moment, then sniffed at her paw and made a face, "Oh yes, sorry, that's me." Upon seeing Adah's bewildered look, the vixen went on to explain, "It's a special potion I rubbed into my fur. It smells terrible, yes, but it seems to ward off diseases, as it usually works to keep said diseases from spreading to me, assuming I maintain the usual precautions at the same time."

"Exactly why she can go around treating patients and not catch the illness herself," Kani piped up, leaning gingerly back on his bed with a weak sigh, then pointed at his own snout, "I can't smell it, though," he snuffled to prove his point, "Too clogged up at the moment."

"Well, lucky you," Adah grumbled, still covering her nose.

"Yes, well, unless you intend to rub some of it into your fur, I would recommend you go and let his lordship rest." Bluejay stated matter-of-factly.

"Bluejay, I'm not the lord _yet_, and I don't plan to be for some seasons still," Kani grumbled, then started to push himself up, "Speaking of which, I have work I need to do…"

"You will do no such thing, milord," Bluejay interrupted, promptly stepping over and pressing the ill fox back into his bed and handing him the medicine she had prepared finally, "If you wish to live long enough to ever become a lord properly, you stay here and rest, and let your body recover."

"Bluejay, there are some things that I'm going to have to do nonetheless." Kani pointed out flatly.

"Get Master Methsuael to do it, he's not ill." Bluejay said.

Kani sighed, but did not protest. "All right, I hate to push off the workload onto him, but…" he turned to Adah. "Adah, you see those parchments sitting on that cabinet? Could you take them to Methusael, please? I'd ask Mordecai, but he's under the weather too."

Adah glanced at the parchments, then with a nod, scooped them up into her paws. "Very well, I can do that," she gave Kani a comforting grin, "Get better soon."

"I plan too," Kani grumbled with a sigh, leaning back in bed wearily, laying one paw over his brow.

And so then, as Bluejay was urging her on out the door, Adah turned and departed, heading on down the corridors of the spacious castle, waving cheerily at friends she passed, as she went to deliver the parchments to Methusael. All things considered, she was in a pretty good mood still, despite details such as Kani falling ill. Disappointing it was still, but she wasn't going to let that completely ruin her day.

Like Kani, Methusael had his own study and study that sat not far from his bedchambers, a small little room with a desk sitting before a small little window, lined with bookcases on one side, and a small little cabinet of office supplies on the other. So, unlike Kani's personal study, everything in Methusael's study was small and little. It even had a little door, which more closely resembled the door to a broom closet (though the room beyond was certainly bigger than that). It wasn't always like that, Methusael once had a bigger study, but he willingly gave it up as it was to be added to another room as part of a remodeling project. He did it, as has he had been promised at the time by the late Lord Jarren that it would only be temporary about two seasons ago.

Yet the poor fox was still in it. Various things had since come up, unfortunately, that had delayed Methusael from being moved into a bigger study.

Reportedly, Methusael now abhorred the little room, and had finally gotten fed up with it to the point that he had been constantly pleading with Kani as of late to get a bigger one to use as his study. Kani, sympathizing, promised he would look into it, but probably not until the spring season rolled around due to a backlog of other matters. So in the meantime, Methusael was more or less stuck with the room.

The point of the matter was that when Adah arrived at the study, finding the door ajar and peaking inside, she wasn't surprised to see no one there already. A study it was, but Adah didn't blame Methusael if he avoided trying to use it. A big creature like him probably started feeling cramped after sitting in there for too long. No wonder he tended to try and do his work elsewhere whenever possible.

However, as Adah pushed open the study door, she saw that Methusael clearly still did some work here in this little room, as several parchments, neatly stacked, sat on the desk, waiting for their owner to return to at a later date. So she decided that rather than go and hunt Methusael down or wait for him to return to the study, she was going to leave the parchments here on his desk, with a little note to explain what they were and why they were there.

Setting the parchments down on the desk, she grabbed a quill, then looked around for a piece of spare parchment to write upon, sifting through the parchments that were already on the desk. Most of them were written upon already, however, with things such as listings of the members of the royal guard, and in the more self-maintaining Angolian militia of mice, various notes about major going-ons in the castle, maps of the land, blueprints of the castle itself, what appeared to be a family tree, and…

Adah paused on this last parchment, picking it up with one paw as she skimmed through the notes written upon it, brow furrowed, her original task forgotten. It took her a few moments to realize what it was that the written words were saying, another for it to sink in fully, then several more moments for Adah to realize this was no joke. Her heart started beating faster, and she broke out into a cold sweat.

"No…" she murmured aloud, "this can't be right…"

But there it was, written on the parchment as clear as day. Finally, after several moments of indecision, she decided she needed to show this to somebody. Preferably to Kani. In fact, Kani should be the first to know. Forget the fact that he had the flu at the moment, if what this parchment said was true…Adah almost couldn't wrap her mind around it. Nervously, she tightened her grip upon the parchment, and turned for the door to hurry out of here again, but stopped suddenly before taking more than a step forward.

Because, lo and behold, there stood Methusael Redd in the open doorway.

Adah froze instantly. Instinct told her to run, but her footpaws suddenly felt as if they were embedded in the floor underneath, and would not move. For a moment, Methusael did nothing, in fact, it seemed like he was more puzzled than anything, looking at Adah curiously. Probably wondering why she looked like a cub with it's paw caught in the cookie jar, however, he glanced at her paws, and upon spying the parchment gripped tightly in one of them, he tilted his head slightly to see the lines upon it a bit better.

Once he had, his eyes instantly narrowed.

"So," he murmured, addressing Adah firmly, "you know."

And at that point, Adah realized just how very real this all was.

"You…" she began, holding up the parchment, scarcely willing to believe it, "…you are plotting against the throne?"

"All that and more," Methusael replied coldly, going to close the door, Adah's only way out of the study, thereby trapping her in here.

But Adah decided she wasn't going to let that happen, and made a mad dash for the door, trying to slip around Methusael's muscular body. It was to no avail, however, as with one blow of his paw, Methusael knocked the vixen out cold before her body even hit the ground.


	3. Violently, Or Peacefully

Chpt. 3, picking up from where chpt. 2 left off. A lot of the chapters for this will do that. Again, if you haven't read "Warrior of Redwall" already, it is highly recommended you do so before reading this fanfic. But, as always, I can't really stop you, so I guess you can read them in whatever order you wish, if you read them at all. :-\ And another reminder to remember to read AND review. 'Cuz reviews help. Dunno how exactly, but they help. :)

3.

"Violently, Or Peacefully"

When Adah awoke again, she found herself still in the study, tied firmly to the desk chair. Wincing at her aching head, she looked around for Methusael, who stood nearby, watching her.

"There you are," Adah murmured, giving him a dark look, then added, "you traitor!"

Methusael didn't respond to the insult. Probably because it was fact.

"You know, I probably shouldn't be surprised this happened," he stated instead, arms folded, "One can only hide something of this magnitude for so long. Someone was going to find out about it, so why _not _you?"

"You make it sound like it's a good thing," Adah grumbled, ears flattened in rage, "But it's not."

"Certainly not, at least for you." Methusael commented with a slight grin, pushing off the wall and stepping forward.

"Nor for you, because I know your plans," Adah stated confidently, "it was all on that piece of parchment, how you plan steal the throne from Lady Grinta! Real foolish of you to leave that lying around where everyone can see!"

"It _wasn't_, you decided to just barge into my study and poke around," Methsuael pointed out.

"Like it really compares with what you're plotting to do! Kill her ladyship!" Adah suddenly stopped short, a thought coming to her, "Good seasons, did you kill Lord Jarren as well?"

"No, no, he died a natural death, like many creatures will," Methusael assured her, heading over to the study's cabinet and pulling out what appeared to be a letter opener, which Adah wouldn't thought much of if it wasn't for the fact that she was tied to a chair at Methusael's mercy and that the letter opener was still fairly sharp, "Luckily for me. Fortunately, I am a patient creature. Maybe if I just wait long enough, her ladyship will join his lordship on her own."

"I take it then that her being sick has nothing to do with you."

"As far as I know."

"Still doesn't change the fact that you're guilty of treason!"

"Hardly, I haven't done anything yet."

"You're plotting it! That still makes you guilty!"

"But no one suspects, nor can anyone prove it."

"_I _can, I know what you're up to, I just have to get the word out."

"Yes," Methusael said, approaching her, holding the letter opener at the ready like he would a dagger, "quite unfortunate it came to that, really."

Adah glared at him, seeing what it was he was getting at, "I'm not afraid to die," she assured him.

In truth, she really was quite afraid to die, but she wasn't going to give Methusael the satisfaction of knowing that. And anyway, she also knew that if Methusael murdered her, he'd have a real hard time trying to explain it away to everyone else when they found out she was dead, or at the very least missing. Methusael would, of course, be smart enough to hide the body of whomever he has killed. But Adah was convinced that Kani would eventually find what happened to her, for better or for worse.

And maybe Methusael realized that. "You won't die, not yet."

"Yet. Hmpf."

"See, I'm willing to…work out…this situation. Someway to sort this out peacefully."

Adah paused, considering this. "How so?" she asked, severely doubtful still, but curious as to what Methusael was thinking.

"Well, if you side me, that'll solve everything for the moment, nor would any blood have to be shed."

"Side with you? Ha!" Adah mocked the idea, "And whatever would make me want to do that?"

Methusael was silent for a moment, making a show of debating his options as he ran the side of the letter opener against his claws, "Well, you and Kani are close, correct?"

Adah's blood ran cold. "No," she quickly lied.

Methusael's grin made it clear he didn't buy it. "Mistress Eventide, there are two ways to take control of a land," he remarked very professionally, "violently, or peacefully. My intent is to do this as peacefully as possible. If you were to side with me, and…"play along" with my plans, it would help me achieve those goals. Some blood might still need to be spilt, perhaps, but from no one who concerns you. If you don't agree to these terms, however, I cannot guarantee the safety of anyone. Especially Kani."

Adah stared at him for a long moment. She realized that she was being blackmailed into this, but she also acknowledged that Methusael was making a very real threat all the same, and she should not take that lightly. Furthermore, it was Kani he was threatening, and she _was _close to him, enough that it was probably obvious to all. She couldn't be the one to seal Kani's death. If there was anything she could do to prevent such a terrible event, she would do it.

But…could she do _this_?

"What would it entail from me?" Adah finally asked, slowly and deliberately, and with narrowed eyes, hoping to make it clear that she hadn't decided to do anything just yet.

But Methusael's grin grew. He was getting through to her. "Nothing much, actually," he assured her, starting to pace around the chair, "save for the fact that you tell nothing to anyone about the truth of…what I am planning. Agree, and you leave this room perfectly unharmed, and life will continue on like it always has for the likes of you. Maybe you could pretend that this was all just a dream. Like it didn't happen."

Adah did have to admit that final idea was highly appeasing, but she doubted how she could ever convince herself it was nothing but a really bad dream.

"There has to be a catch somewhere in all of this," the vixen pressed.

"The only catch is that I might ask small favors from you every now and then."

"What sort of favors?"

"Run a parchment here, deliver a secret message there, nothing much really. Rest assured that I will be keeping most of my plans to myself for the time being."

"But I'm not assured. Not in the slightest."

"I suppose you have that right."

"…like I have the right to turn you in?" Adah was investigating all of her options.

Methusael treated the matter lightly. "Yes, I suppose you do. Only trouble will come from it, though."

"As if letting you go free won't."

"Attempting to turn me in will cause even more trouble, though, I think. Messier, too. I can see a lot of blood being shed over this if you play your cards like that Adah. Creatures would die. Lots of them."

Adah snorted at the threat, not fully buying it, "How can one creature do all of that?" she challenged.

Methusael leaned back against the side of his desk, still grinning. "Who said I'm just one creature?"

Adah stared at him, realizing that she had no way of knowing whether or not he was bluffing.

"Let me put it this way, Adah," Methusael continued, and leaned uncomfortably close to the vixen so to whisper in her ear, "you don't agree to my terms, and I'll personally slay Kani this very night."

Adah choked back a gasp, and again stared at the traitorous fox, still unsure if he was bluffing. But then again, there was nothing Adah knew of that could stop him from doing it. Present circumstances, in fact, seemed to be in favor of it, with Kani having come down with the flu. Assuming Methusael could get in, kill Kani, and get out without being detected or raising the alarm, or leaving any solid traces that lead back to him, the fox could do it.

Adah felt her stomach squeeze uneasily in fear of the thought.

But then again, assuming Adah _did _agree to Methusael's terms and "play along," then she only had his word that he would not kill Kani. Which, obviously, was not very good. For all Adah knew, once she agreed to Methusael's terms, he could just turn around and slay Kani out of pure spite.

And now that Adah thought about it, this did bring one conundrum to Methusael's plans to overthrow the present rulers and take control of the land for himself.

"If you really plan on taking control of Angola, then how can you _afford _to leave _any _members of the royal family alive?" she asked, challenging what she perceived as a hole to the traitor's plans.

Methusael, however, had his answer ready already. "Like I said before, Adah, I wish to do this as peacefully as possible, and if I can do it without killing any member of the royal family, so much the better."

"And how do you intend to do that?"

"With cunning. Subterfuge. Political conspiracy. I plan to steal their power, slowly, gradually, right out from under them. We're foxes, after all, we're quite capable of doing this. Our species even has a history of it in some areas. Then, hopefully, once I have enough power to take full control of the land, away from them, I intend to make them see that it's a lost cause to try and fight to get it back. Once I do that, then they will have no choice to either submit to my rule, or, better still, simply leave the land and not return."

"And what would make them decide that?"

"The fact that I plan to have control of the armies by then. And to have them loyal in me. I have spent many seasons planning this out, Adah. It's like a giant chess game. Have your pieces in just the right places, and then I can strike right at the heart of my foe and emerge from the battle with a guaranteed and undisputed victory."

"And your plans to murder Lady Grinta? Seems that's set in stone."

"Only because you didn't read everything on that parchment. It's really nothing more than an option I'm considering at the moment. Admittedly, I am leaning in that general direction presently, but if there is anyway I can take to avoid it, I will."

Adah had a hard time believing that, and suspected that Methusael was purposely saying such things to make the whole ordeal appease to her. She wasn't sure if it was working on her, though. Part of her saw what Methusael was saying as logical…in a sadistic and power hungry way…while another part simply didn't care, and was warning her to not buy it for a moment. You would only regret it in the end.

That part was also telling her that she needed to tell Methusael no, she would not "play along" then and there, even if it likely signed her death (as Methusael couldn't let her go if he couldn't guarantee that she'd keep quiet), but the reason she _hadn't_ was because the threat Methusael had made against Kani was still very fresh in her mind, threats she couldn't discount as mere bluffs no matter how things played out. That was probably the one and only thing that was holding her back.

Which was somewhat of an ethical battle. Could she really let herself play along with this proposed charade of Methusael's and let him get away with conspiracy, treason, and a plot to take control of the land for himself, simply so she'd have some semblance of assurance that the creature she probably cared for the most could stay safe?

After several moments of internal debate, she realized that she had only one answer to that question.

"If I do this, you have to _swear_ to me that you will not harm a hair of Kani's fur _ever_ or the deal's off," Adah told her captor as sternly as she could, for she meant every word.

Methusael shook his head, still grinning that grin of his. "Of course I will, Adah." He vowed.

And like that, the matter was done. It took a moment for the enormity of what Adah had just done to sink in fully, but as it did, and the second thoughts to that choice started rearing their head, Methusael acted quickly to insure that Adah would not back out now, by suddenly clamping a cloth to her snout. The cloth was wet with some kind of liquid that overpowered the vixen's senses to the point that she quickly passed out.

When she awoke again, she found herself neatly tucked into bed in her quarters, lying there like the whole ordeal really _had _been nothing but a dream.

Save for the fact that Adah's head still had a sore spot from where Methusael had struck her when said ordeal had begun…


	4. A Little Bit Of Beauty

Chpt. 4, covers a small amount of time passage. Mostly the character(s) brewing over things, verbally or otherwise. Reviews wanted, if only to establish that someone is reading this.

4.

"A Little Bit Of Beauty"

But as Methusael had promised it would, life more or less went on as normal after that. Chores rolled on, the cold winter weather pressed harder, various creatures at random would fall ill with the flu passing through the area like it did every winter, while others still recovered from the same illness. For the first day or so, Adah was heartened by all of this, and tried to use this does of normalness to just push what had happened behind her, out of mind, and try and convince herself that it really _had _been nothing more than a really bad dream.

It didn't work, though, she knew better than that. She also knew that Methusael was still out there somewhere in the castle plotting his schemes to take control of the land, and whether or not he really did follow through on his word and did it as peacefully as possible, there was no changing that one detail. The fact that Methusael was up to no good. This left poor Adah with a terrible dilemma. Would she follow through on her own end of the agreement, which she now regretted ever making, and keep quiet? Or should she break it, and tell somebeast of authority what it was that Methusael planned and see to it that justice was served?

Of course, she knew what choice was the right one, the one she really ought to strive to make, but she was still hesitant. She hadn't forgotten Methusael's threats, and she had no way of confirming whether or not there was any truth to them. She had no idea how far Methusael's conspiracies spread, and how many other creatures, if any at all, might be allied with the traitorous fox. He had suggested to her during their little "meeting", for lack of a better word, that he wasn't acting alone, but he didn't say a word more than that, and it really wasn't so much in confirmation that he wasn't, but rather pointing out to Adah that he _might _have allies.

It could very well have been a bluff, made to intimidate her.

If so, then it was working, because it gave Adah a terrible sense of paranoia and distrust. Every creature she passed, interacted with, and so on she had a hard time putting her trust in them like before, particularly to those she did not know as well. For all she knew, they could be allied with Methusael, and might be assigned to watch her, to make sure she didn't make any wrong moves.

One creature she was certain was watching her was Methusael himself, however. Whenever the two were within eyesight of each other, Adah would feel the fox's gaze focus in on her, usually sending chills down her back. He never smiled at her, either, which actually wasn't too uncommon already, but now Adah was more consciously aware of it. Because she knew that Methusael was watching her every move, insuring that she heeded her end of their little agreement, and wouldn't betray him. No doubt he would be ready to take action if and when she ever tried it.

Other than that, though, they did not interact much. Since their "encounter" the two usually kept their distance, and had not spoken another word to each other since then, which actually made Adah uneasy. Deep down, the desperate part of her kind of hoped that Methusael would come up to her one day and happily declare that it all had only been a prank, or something of the such. The idea carried no weight at all, but at this point, Adah was clamoring for any kind of hope to hang onto that might tell her that she was worrying over nothing.

Because she was doing plenty of worrying. And not just for herself, or even just Kani. She also worried for the rest of the royal family, Lady Grinta and her other son, Hax. She feared for all those that worked closely to that royal family, such as Bluejay (who, when not tending to those ill with the flu, tended to poor, bedridden, Lady Grinta) and Kani's personal servant Mordecai, a fairly silent, but obedient beast. She also feared for the mice the royal family ruled over, wondering what might become of them should Methusael's plans ever become reality. She was convinced it wouldn't be good. In short, she feared for the whole land of Angola. And she knew that it's fate could very well depend on what she chose to do; play along, or reveal Methusael as a traitor.

That enormous weight was almost more than she was willing to bare. For the moment, she played along, but not because that was her choice. In all honesty, she was too undecided to do anything else. So she did nothing. Her conscious ate away at her mind for doing that, but for the moment, she was too afraid and too mentally torn over what to do. There was nothing she wanted more to do than see to it that Methusael got his just rewards, but she knew Methusael's threats, and knew the risks she would be making by trying it. She wanted to tell all, but as so afraid to, she kept quiet.

It was especially hard to keep quiet around Kani, the one creature she trusted the most, who had the most power to do anything about Methusael, but was also the creature in the most danger. As the first week wore on, she quickly learned that every time she went to visit with the creature she fancied she was overcome with the desire to tell him everything. She didn't want to keep secrets from him.

So, as much as she hated that choice, she stayed away from him. It was rather an unusual move for her, but nobody, especially Kani, seemed to think much of it for that first week, as he was still quite ill with that pesky flu. They all probably thought she was keeping her distance to try and keep from catching the flu herself, something that was encouraged by all creatures so to keep the illness from spreading into an epidemic. That was going to end the moment Kani recovered, however, and then Adah was going to have to come up with a new plan.

As luck would have it, however, as the second week began, Kani recovered, but at the same time, Adah herself became ill with the flu and was bedridden for the rest of the week. Becoming more ill than Kani had even become (possibly due to all the stress she had been through for the week previous) Adah got few visitors during this time except for Bluejay, who visited frequently everyday to make sure she was recovering and not getting worse and the odd creature who'd turn up and tell her to get well soon. Kani visited twice to chat briefly, no more than a few minutes tops, but otherwise he kept his distance. His reasons were apparently because he had a lot of work to catch up on that he missed while he was ill, which was keeping him busy, and that having already had the flu once in no way made him immune to it (according to Bluejay) and as he didn't need to come down with it a second time, or spread it to others further still, Kani kept away.

In some ways, this was a good thing for Adah, who was somewhat relieved by all of this, despite being bedridden with a terrible headache, chills, and a heavily queasy stomach for most of that second week. It meant that her secret for the moment would be safe until she was in a position to decide what to do with it after that. Although she repeatedly feared that she might babble everything out if she became delirious, something she both hoped for and feared. But of course, her condition was never that bad.

By the end of the second week she was pretty much recovered from her ailments, although battle them had left her quite physically drained, so she spent a few more days still at Bluejay's recommendation to rest and recuperate further. Once that was done, however, life went on again as normal, like it had done before. And it was then that Kani started to socialize with her again, requesting that she walk with him, talk with him, or participate in just about any activity he felt like Adah would like to join him in. Adah turned down a lot of the offers with made-up excuses of having other things needing to be done, but she did come to the conclusion that she couldn't turn them all down, otherwise Kani would start to realize she was trying to avoid being in his presence for any prolonged time and start inquiring as to why.

So some of the offers she agreed to join him with, such as the odd meal, the odd walk, and so forth. Just little matters that would either be fairly short, or something Adah could pull herself away from quickly if she felt certain subjects were at risk of coming up. During these activities, Adah would participate physically, and listen while Kani talked, but kept unnaturally quiet herself in fear of blabbing something she knew she should, but couldn't without running a risk she wasn't willing to take at present.

She wasn't sure if Kani noticed…until one day when they were eating lunch together in the dining room when he chose to address the subject.

"Adah, I want you to tell me something," he began, addressing her in a more professional manner than he normally would, alerting Adah that he wanted to talk business, "And I want you to be completely truthful with me in your reply."

Adah hesitated to give a reply, knowing full well that she might not be able to back out of this. "Um, okay," she finally stated.

"You've been awfully quiet and withdrawn lately, is there something wrong that I need to know about?"

Adah tensed, but quickly made herself relax so to avoid suspicion. Trying to keep her voice calm, she asked, "What makes you think there's something wrong?"

"Don't go avoiding the subject, Adah," Kani pressed, "Don't think that I haven't noticed that you've been avoiding certain subjects as of late."

Adah bit her lip, and wondered how she was going to get out of this one. Should she flat out lie? To Kani? No, she couldn't do that, not willingly at least. She _should _tell him the truth. But this was an extremely public place that they were in at the moment, and very much the wrong place to go about telling secrets when you had creatures sitting at tables all around you eating, who could possibly overhear something they shouldn't. Plus, she knew Kani. If she told him that Methusael was a traitor and plotting to overthrow the royal family, Kani would likely confront Methusael for the truth, and if he did, Adah feared that would be the end of Kani. If she was going to tell him, she needed to do it tactfully, and emphasize that Kani's life was at risk by her telling him the truth.

The question that remained, then, was how to do it.

"Is it something I've done?" Kani asked suddenly, interrupting her thoughts and attempts to piece together a response, "Have I offended you in some way? Are you trying to avoid me?"

"Avoid you?" Adah repeated, "Heaven's no, Kani, if I were ever to start avoiding you, I assure you I would be doing it very unwillingly."

Which was actually the truth Kani had inquired for, because that was exactly what was happening. It'd make for a good stepping stone into the subject, however.

"Good, because I enjoy you're company," Kani said, continuing on again, "You always give me reason to be happy and cheerful, even when things are looking down. You are a very good friend, Adah."

Adah couldn't help but grin at this. "Really?" she asked.

"Really, Adah, in fact, more than that, you have a…special place in my heart."

Now Adah, flattered, started to blush, but at the same time, tears were trying to spring to her eyes as she remembered Methusael's threats. She tried to hold them back, to keep them from spilling out over the edges of her eyelids, but Kani noticed anyway.

"Now I definitely know something is wrong," he stated, looking concerned now.

"Oh Kani…" Adah began almost on the verge of breaking down into sobs, but trying hard to keep herself together. She decided that she couldn't…wouldn't…hold her tongue any longer. The truth was going to come out. "Kani…it's…it's…I can't…it's been…oh Kani…you have to understand that it's…it's been…"

But while the truth was right there on the tip of her tongue, ready for speaking, Adah couldn't bring herself to say it. She just couldn't. Not when so many people were there, present, within hearing range, and certainly not with Kani looking at her with that worried expression. He had no idea what it was she was going to say, there was no way he could be prepared to hear it, not now. So she sat there for several long moments, opening her mouth repeatedly to try and find the will to say what words were bouncing around in her mind in disorganized chaos, when she finally gave up, and lowered her head for a moment, before she went to speak again.

"…it's just that it's been such a…a…gloomy winter is all," Adah remarked finally, flat lying despite inwardly screaming at herself to not to, "It's…been very depressing, with all the color gone from the world because of all that snow. This flu that's been going around, and your ill mother, haven't helped matters either. That's all. I guess I've just haven't been in the…best of spirits as of late."

"Well, is that all," Kani remarked, and shook his head, managing a grin, "Don't let the dullness of winter get to you like that Adah. All of those depressed feelings don't make you any better. In fact, I can't say I've ever seen you like this before."

"It hasn't exactly been an ordinary winter, Kani," Adah pointed out, one truth that she could state without any fear.

"It was probably being cooped up in your bedchambers when you were ill that did this to you," Kani remarked, thinking now, "spending all that time cooped up in one place…it certainly isn't very heartening, nor can it possibly help. I keep telling Bluejay that we should do more to expose these ill creatures to more good things. There must be a way to do it without further damaging their health or risking the further spreading of disease," he rubbed at his snout with one claw for a moment, in thought, then suddenly snapped them as he got an idea, "I know what will fix this," he got up from the table, "Come, follow me, I want to show you something."

"Oh, I don't know, Kani, I think I should…" Adah hesitated, about to make up some excuse.

But Kani wouldn't hear it, stepping over to her chair and grabbing her paws and pulling her to her feet. "Come on, follow me. You'll like this, I promise. I'm going to prove to you that winter still has some beauty in it. You just have to look for it a little harder sometimes."

* * *

A few minutes later, they were both outside, bundled up tightly in cloaks, trudging through the deep, frozen, snow, hiking up further the side of the mountain that Midnight Castle was perched upon. Kani seemed to know where he was going, but Adah could do little but follow him, wondering what this was about, and hope Kani knew what he was doing.

"Kani…" Adah bemoaned after a few minutes, "my footpaws are getting cold."

"I know, I know, just…be patient for another minute, I know it's here somewhere…ah ha!" Kani pointed at a small outcropping of rock, underneath which the snow was thinner than everywhere else, "There it is! Come and see!"

They moved closer, Adah growing curious as to what was here that was so interesting. When they arrived underneath the outcropping, the vixen didn't see anything right away, but then she spied something poking up out of the snow by the base of the large outcropping.

Small, sky blue, flowers, in full bloom.

"Oh my!" Adah gaped at them for a moment, then knelt down to finger the plant's leaves with her claws to confirm that they were indeed real, "They're beautiful! But…how can they be growing?"

"I don't know," Kani admitted, kneeling down beside her, "But for some reason these flowers are always in bloom during the winter. I suppose they grow best in the cold, unlike most plants. Hax found these up here a few seasons ago. They always grow in the same spot. Sometimes he and I would collect a couple to give to mother as a gift. She loves getting flowers in the winter, as it's so unheard of."

He grinned, then picked one of the flowers, and handed it to Adah. Adah brought it to her snout and sniffed the delicate flower. It had a pleasant scent. Adah glanced at Kani and returned his grin.

"So, feeling a little better?" he asked.

"A little," Adah was forced to admit.

"Let that be a lesson to you, then. No matter the situation, no matter the environment, everything has a little bit of beauty. A little bit you can enjoy and love."

Adah's grin grew. "Thank you, Kani," she said.

"You're welcome, Adah."


	5. We Need To Talk

Chpt. 5. Building tension. I liked the ending for this chapter. :)

5.

"We Need To Talk"

After that day, things seemed to be better for Adah. Granted, circumstances had not changed, and Adah had still kept the matter of Methusael secret, despite having tried to tell somebeast the truth, but she took Kani's advice to heart, and sought the beauty of every situation that she could enjoy. And, doing that, life suddenly seemed worth living to it's fullest again, and the matter of Methusael suddenly seemed that much easier to ignore. Besides, that fox's plans seemed so ludicrous, there was no way they could possibly work without him getting caught.

But there came a time when Adah had to face reality again.

And the cruelest reminder that one could give her of course came from Methusael himself.

Upon returning to her quarters one day after having spent the morning chatting with Kani, Adah found that a small slip of parchment had been slipped under her door. Curious, she picked up and read the simply message that was written upon it. It said:

"_We need to talk._

_-Methusael"_

Adah felt her stomach sink, easily a hundred scenarios about what it was Methusael wanted to "talk" about rushing to her mind. None of them were very good. For a moment, she debated pretending that she hadn't seen the note, and just ignoring the request to meet, but then realized that it wouldn't matter. If Adah wouldn't come to him to talk, Methusael would come to her to have his talk eventually. So unless she quickly confessed what she knew and turned him over to the authorities and reap whatever repercussions that would be in store, there would be no avoiding this meeting.

So, reluctantly, she left her room again and went to Methusael's study where this whole mess had begun and rapped on the door to announce that she had arrived.

"Come in," Methusael called from within.

Adah let herself in, and found Methusael sitting at his desk, hard at work on some paperwork. Adah stepped into the center of the small study and, frowning as she didn't want to be here, stood there, waiting to be addressed.

"Close the door, please," Methusael finally stated, focusing on whatever work it was that he was doing.

Adah back-kicked the door closed with her footpaw, then resumed her original position, wanting to get this over with already.

"So, I see you got my message," Methusael continued without looking up from his work. Apparently, he didn't need to see who it was he was talking to, "Thank you for coming so quickly."

"If you say so," Adah would've preferred it if she had made Methusael wait somehow. It would've accomplished nothing, but it would make her feel a little better about all of this.

"Anyway, as you are no doubt wondering why I have asked you here, it's for a couple of reasons," Methusael continued, "First off, I want to congratulate you on your good work on keeping a secret."

"You gave me little other choice."

Even though Methusael's face was still directed at his paperwork, Adah knew he was smiling. "I know. Worked out nicely, hasn't it? Though I have wondered if you were going to tell once or twice."

"So you _have _been watching me."

"Of course, what did you expect? I can't really let you wander off unmonitored, now can I? What if you said something you shouldn't? That would be most unfortunate, indeed."

"Can we get to the point?"

"The point, Adah, is that the time has come for me to ask for your help."

"_My _help?"

"Don't you remember? That was part of the agreement; that you would assist me in various small matters."

Adah sighed, regretting that accursed agreement, not for the first time. "All right, what do I have to do?"

"It's a simple matter, actually. Turns out you are no longer so alone in holding our little secret, because we have another creature who has found out my plans. However, unlike you, I cannot guarantee that he will keep quiet. I need you to correct this."

Adah's frown deepened. "And how am I going to do that?"

Methusael turned around in his seat, facing her finally, and wordlessly lifted up an Angolian dagger. Adah's eyes went wide as she made the connection.

"You can't be serious…" she began.

"I can't allow him to live, Adah," Methusael explained calmly, "Otherwise he would ruin all of my plans."

"I can't blame him, your plans deserve ruining."

"The end fate of my plans aside, I believe it's fairly clear what I want you to do."

Adah stared at the proffered dagger for a few moments, feeling uneasy. "Why me?" she finally asked.

"In case you forgot, murder is a serious crime in Angola. If I were to do this deed, and were caught, it would ruin all of my plans."

"Oh, I see, so I'm supposed to take the fall for you," Adah spat bitterly.

"I have a plan for you to carry out this deed quickly, effectively, and with little risk of getting caught, that is, however, assuming you do exactly what I tell you to do," Methusael explained, placing the dagger in Adah's paw, despite the vixen not wanting it, "You shouldn't get caught if you are not seen. The dagger, as you can see, is also Angolian, specifically that of the mice. Blame for the murder will likely fall to them. Also, I will insure that I am given charge of any investigations into the murder, thereby I will be in an excellent position to…alter…any unwanted results from that investigation. Do what I say, and we can get away with this."

"So you expect me to just murder someone for you, just like that?" Adah snapped, annoyed.

"Only you and me will know about, Adah," Methusael stressed.

"That's two people too many!"

"Are you saying you won't do it then?" Methusael was turning menacing.

Adah fumed inwardly for a moment, seeing that he was trying to corner her again, giving her no choice but to do this. "I'm saying," she finally amended, "that there must be a better way than this."

"Possibly, but there isn't time, and I have already set the scene for his murder."

"Just who is this creature you want dead, anyway?"

"No one of consequence. Just a lowly, low-ranking, member of the royal guard who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. No one you know personally. I doubt you even know his name. Possibly haven't even seen him. Therefore, you should have few qualms about killing him."

"That doesn't make it _right _Methusael. You don't just go about killing creatures willy-nilly for no good reason!"  
"But I _do _have a reason, Adah! He knows things he shouldn't, and he isn't going to keep it to himself for long! It threatens my plans, as well as my own personal safety! I know you don't think highly of me or my plans at the moment, but you must see the logic behind the matter. Put yourself in my shoes. What would you do?"

Adah looked at the dagger in her paw for a moment. "I wouldn't kill him," she stated defiantly.

"Would you? What if your life depended upon it?"

"Well…that would be different…but that doesn't apply here. _Your _life isn't in jeopardy."

"A creature accused of high treason can suffer death as a penalty, you know."

"Depending on the seriousness of the crime and it's at the discretion of the lord or lady ruling. And besides, a creature who has committed high treason would probably deserve no less fate."

"Adah, I understand that I'm asking a lot of you," Methusael stated, rising to his feet and approaching her, "You're right, this is no matter to take lightly. And trust me, if I could avoid it, I would. Having a murder on my paws is not something I want to deal with. But I cannot see any other, effective, means of handling this."

"I am _not _killing anybeast, no matter what they've done," Adah announced conclusively, dropping the dagger to the floor, and then turning her back on the fox, "I won't swoop so low. So you'll have to kill me first, I suppose."

Methusael sighed, rubbing at his brow, as he stooped down to retrieve the dagger. "I suppose under normal circumstances you have that choice, Adah," he confessed, "But in case I need to remind you, these are not normal circumstances, and I do not believe I gave you a choice in the matter," he held out the dagger, handle first, to Adah.

"I am drawing the line here and now, Methusael," Adah persisted, "I still haven't decided if I'm going to keep your dark secret forever either. Get somebody else to do your dirty work."

"It's just one life, Adah…"

"Curse the seasons, Methusael, don't you get it? Murdering a creature is _not _something you just do to solve problems! It's not like just…burning an incriminating piece of parchment and being done with it! Killing a creature is not something to take so lightly! You claim to see that, but if you really did, you wouldn't be asking me to do this!" tears of fury and fear were springing to her eyes now, "I will not allow another creature's blood to stain my claws! These paws were not meant to drive dagger's in-between another's ribs!"

"Adah, if this creature gets his chance to tell all about my plans, I will be forced to take action, quickly, to compensate," Methusael explained sternly, "I will have to use force, because once everyone knows my plans, they will not allow me to use the subterfuge I have been planning to use."

"So much the better. I hope they use _plenty _of force on you."

"You fail to understand my point. I mean that if I have to use force, I will have to hurt whomever stands in my way. Actually, I'll be blunt, and confess that whoever is foolish enough to do that will likely die. Certain members of the royal family included."

Adah did not reply to this, but she remained standing her ground.

"It's a matter of simple logic, Adah. Which would be more ideal? The loss of one lowly life? Or the loss of several, higher up, creatures resulting in a ghastly bloodbath? I told you before. I wish to carry out my plans as peacefully as possible. I don't want to have to resort to the bloodbath."

"I don't support your plans."

"I know. But I didn't ask you to get involved, and neither did you. Fate has simply brought it upon us both, and now you can't avoid it."

Adah twisted her head around to glare at Methusael. "I hate you."

"Your frustration is understandable."

"I think you enjoy it."

"I assure you that I do not. I, in fact, would have preferred if you had not gotten involved with matters that concern only me in the first place, but you couldn't leave well enough alone."

"It was a stupid accident! I was looking for scrap parchment to write you a note on! I wasn't looking for trouble!"

"No, trouble found you."

"It certainly did."

They were both silent for a moment. Methusael offered her the dagger again. Adah glanced at it, but still did not accept it.

"You have a lot of nerve asking me to do this," she pointed out.

"And you have a lot of nerve to resist me," Methusael stated, no longer bothering to hide his own frustration in the matter.

It only made Adah madder. This was a ridiculous situation they were in. Clearly, neither of them had the gumption to make the surefire move to end the matter here and now, and rather were just arguing about it. But it was also a literal matter of life and death. Whether or not Adah accepted that dagger determined whether or not a creature would live today. She didn't want to murder anybeast. In fact, she wasn't even sure if she had the nerve to even attempt it. But as Methusael had made it clear, she didn't have the option of backing out, he wasn't going to let her. And in a sick and twisted way, his reasoning did make some bloodthirsty sense, not that she supported the idea.

But like before with the matter of whether or not she was going to keep Methusael's plans secret, it seemed she had little choice in the matter.

Or did she?

Adah glanced back at the dagger for a moment, then finally, hesitantly, accepted it. "What is that I need to do?" she asked.

Methusael grinned. "I have it all arranged already," he explained, "I have sent a note to our problem creature asking that he meet me in a discreet location to discuss the matter of my plans. An alley in the village, located between two cottages near the edge facing into the woods. He will be arriving there to meet me shortly. However, I will not arrive there as planned. He has little reason to suspect foul play, however, so as long you do _your _part quickly, Adah, I am fairly certain he will not be on his guard. What I want _you _to do, however, is to sneak up to the location through the woods, approach him while his back his turned to you, and then stab him with the dagger. Insure that the creature will not live long enough for anyone to find him in time for him to tell what he knows. Leave it there with him so to incriminate the right creatures for the blame. Once you have done that, cover your tracks, and return immediately to Midnight Castle. I will take charge of the matter from there," he glanced at Adah for a long moment, "do you understand?"

Adah glanced back at him, "I understand."

* * *

However, Adah was making plans of her own. She had no plans of killing anybeast at all. Instead, what she hoped to do was to find some way to fake it, long enough to get the attention of this creature, find out what he knew, and then maybe they could both work together in secret to work behind Methusael's back and clean up this mess once and for all, and end the matter altogether.

She wasn't entirely sure how she was going to do that, but she hoped to figure something out.

Currently, she was hurrying through the snowy forest that encircled most of the Angolian village, wrapped in a cloak, gripping the dagger in one paw, heading towards the location of the meeting site Methusael had told her to expect this creature to be out. By his estimates, Methusael said he should already be there. Adah just had to turn up, do him in, and then leave again.

As she went, she pondered her situation, and wondered how she was going to pull this off convincingly. Methusael might be watching her, or was having her be watched, so she was best off by making this look as real as possible. Maybe if she went _as if _to stab the creature, but in reality didn't…this creature was a member of the royal guard apparently, and they typically wore armor at all times when on duty, and as it was still daytime, this creature, even with him being sidetracked with plans to meet with Methusael, should still be wearing armor.

In that case, it was simple. The creature would be wearing a simple breastplate under a layer of clothing. Adah simply have to drive the dagger into that plate, as if stabbing his back. It would _look _real, but the dagger most certainly would be unable to pierce it. The creature would be safe. Then, Adah would discreetly urge the creature to play along, then drag him out of immediate sight, and then they could talk, figure things out further.

It wasn't a great plan, but considering where Adah had stood on this matter before, it was definitely a step up from before.

She slowed suddenly as the woods started to thin out ahead of her and abruptly switch from forest into village. Straight ahead were the two cottages, a space big enough for two or so creatures to stand in existing between them. And as Methusael had expected, the creature he wanted dead was already standing there. He was a young male fox, wearing a standard royal guard cloak, with his back turned to her, looking as if he was watching for someone, exactly as was expected. Adah didn't think she recognized him, again true to Methusael's word, surprisingly, but it was hard to tell from this distance.

Adah crouched down and watched the creature for a few moments from beside a tree, gripping the dagger tightly. The fox kept his back to her, completely unaware she was even there. If Adah was going to do this, she wasn't going to get another chance. With a wave of nervousness despite her confidence in her plans, Adah arose and cautiously and slowly started inching her way towards the creature. She walked slowly, using small strides. The snow, while leaving obvious tracks, muffled her approach greatly. The creature did not notice she was coming as she raised her arm in preparation to stab the dagger into the creature's hidden breastplate.

But then, just as Adah reached him, some sixth sense alerted the creature he was in danger, and he spun around to face Adah. Before he had even finished turning fully, Adah, as nervous as she was, reacted without thinking, and drove the dagger into the creature's chest and into his breastplate.

It was then that she became aware of several things, all of which proved that things had just gone very wrong.

Because the dagger never hit any kind of breastplate, but instead was driven deep into the creature's upper body resulting in a critical injury.

And there was the fact that this fox was no lowly member of the royal guard.

He was Hax Fennix.


	6. There Will Be No Backing Out

A rather short chapter, but it gets so many points across so quickly that it really didn't need to be longer. Plus, the spot it ends at is perfect, I think. Also get to see just what kind of creature Methusael REALLY is, something that wasn't always portrayed so well in "Warrior of Redwall."

6.

"There Will Be No Backing Out"

It was one of those moments where events turned for the worse so suddenly, it took all involved a few moments for them to realize the enormity of what had just happened. During that split second, the two simply stared at each other in wide-eyed shock, not looking like either one quite believed what they were seeing.

Finally, it donned first on Adah as she realized with a surge of terror that Methusael had successfully managed to trick her. There never was any royal guard infringing on his plans. He had sent her to stab and kill Lady Grinta's youngest son and one of the heirs to her throne, fooling her into thinking that it was someone else. And despite Adah's plans to not give Methusael that kind of satisfaction, Methusael still succeeded.

By this point, Hax also realized what he knew of the situation, which was unfortunately little, seeing that he had been betrayed, and his look of bewildered shock became a stunned expression, mixed in with the greatest look of betrayal Adah had ever seen. It pained Adah to no end to see that expression. She wanted to tell Hax that it wasn't what it looked like, to explain everything to him, why this had happened, and why…but she knew that would never justify it, what she had just done to him.

She tried, though, trying to find the words to tell him, but she couldn't discover how to begin. She started to tear up in frustration, but mostly in terror at the idea of the whole predicament.

What would happen now?

She realized there was something wet and warm on her paw, then with a start realized it was Hax's blood. With a gasp, she withdrew her paw suddenly, releasing the dagger she had stabbed into Hax. Hax wobbled on his footpaws for a moment, the color draining out his face as he started to loose more and more blood through the wound, still staring in shock and betrayal at Adah, before he collapsed to his knees, then toppled over sideways to lay in the snow. Adah stared at him as her terror grew more and more, starting to back away, her undoubtedly guilty eyes locked onto Hax's betrayed eyes, until her terror took control, telling her she needed to do something _NOW_.

And that something, was run.

She spun around and dashed for the forest, stopped, quickly doubled-back to erase the tracks she had left in the snow as Methusael had requested, then resumed running, plunging into the woods and running straight ahead, dodging trees, tears streaming from her eyes. She kept running and running blindly until she could finally run no more and fell to her knees and wept in agony for what had happened.

* * *

Hours later, Adah realized suddenly what she should've done was stay with Hax and treat his wound, to try and stop the bleeding, to save him. Or at least gone to get help, or taken him to get help. It would require explaining what had happened, that Adah was guilty for spilling any amount of Hax's blood, but to Adah if she had done it, it would've been a welcome relief despite the consequences, as it would be a chance to confess everything about this nightmare she had been living.

But it was probably too late for that now. If someone else hadn't found Hax by then, he was good as dead now.

It was nearly dark before Adah got the nerve to head back for Midnight Castle, near frozen from the cold, and her eyes very sore from all of her crying. She didn't want to return as well, but knew she couldn't stay away forever, and really had no where else to go, so returning was her only option. As she had no idea what to expect when she returned after her long absence, she rather mournfully headed towards a seldom used back entrance to the castle, to enter discreetly. As she unsteadily walked towards this entrance, she debated what she was going to do now. High on her list was just going to the first creature that wasn't Methusael and confessing everything. This mess has gone on long enough. It was time to do something about Methusael.

Regardless of the consequences.

But she never got that far, because, just as she was just mere paces away from the closed door, stepping around a smattering of bare-branched saplings that were growing along this area, she heard someone speak.

"You're late to return, Adah."

Adah stopped dead in her tracks, and felt her fury rise to it's breaking point. Snapping finally, she spun around and charged Methusael standing nearby and started lashing out at him with all her might, furious at him.

"You!" She screamed at him as loud as she could, "You _tricked _me! You liar, you venom-tongued _liar_! _That was no member of the royal guard_! _**It was Hax Fennix**_! YOU _DELIBERATELY_ TRICKED ME TO _MURDER _HAX FENNIX! YOU MONSTER! YOU LYING, TWO-FACED, SCHEMING, TRAITOROUS, MONSTER! _I WISH YOU WERE DEAD! _No, even _death __**is**_ TOO _GOOD FOR __**YOU**_!"

She clawed, beat, and scratched at every inch she could dig her claws into of Methusael. Methusael, however, had clearly anticipated this reaction, and was wearing chainmail under his clothing, rendering most of Adah's attack useless, but Adah hardly cared at this point. She kept at her clawing and screaming, while Methusael simply stood there and calmly took the blows, as if doing so was supposed to prove some kind of point. Adah barely noticed as she continued her physical and verbal assault.

"PLAGUES AND PESTILENCE ON YOU _AND_ YOUR FAMILY FOR THE NEXT HUNDRED GENERATIONS! PLAGUES, FILTH, MAGGOTS, WEEVILS, _EVERY_ FILTHY THING KNOWN TO ANIMAL KIND ON _YOU_, YOU VILE, VILE, VILE…_**ARRRGGGHH**_!"

Running out of names to call Methusael, her shouts degraded into nothing more than a loud growl of frustration, and to compensate, started pounding harder and faster on Methusael's chest with her fists, hot tears streaming down her face. Methusael took the blows for a few moments more, then suddenly grabbed Adah's wrists, stopping her blows, and held up her paws for the vixen to see.

"And yet it is not Hax's blood that is on my paws," he remarked coldly.

Adah stared at her paws, and saw he was right. Dried and crusted now, blood stained both the flesh and fur on her paws. Wrenching them out of Methusael's grip, she brought them closer to her and stared at them, but it didn't change anything. And it wasn't just her paws that were bloodstained, but her clothing as well, especially the cloak she was wearing. She suddenly felt very filthy, as well as very guilty, Methusael's point crashing down on her like a ton of bricks at that point.

Methusael might have tricked her into doing the deed.

But no matter how you looked at it, she, and she alone, had carried it out, nonetheless.

There was no evidence at all of Methusael's involvement in the murder except for Adah's word.

And her word would be in serious doubt at this point.

Shocked as the implications of this sunk in, Adah fell to her knees, trembling in fear. Methusael simply stood over her watching, almost curiously, as she started to hyperventilate.

"Hax?" she finally inquired to Methusael, almost pleading with him to tell her good news. It was really her last hope. Maybe if Hax was still alive, maybe if he had survived the unprovoked attack…

But Methusael hid a grin. "Dead," he remarked simply, "bled to death from a stab wound. He was found by an Angolian while he was still alive, nearly lived long enough to tell who his killer was, but thankfully didn't. You did your part well enough, and left no tracks to follow. Evidence points to the Angolians being responsible, which isn't entirely believed by all, but no one suspects the truth. And I've been placed in charge of the investigation, so I can further…skew…the evidence," he leaned down closer to Adah, Adah giving him a dark look, "I would like to thank you, Adah, for carrying out that deed so well. You acted _exactly _as I had hoped you would."

Adah felt another chill run down her spine as she realized that Methusael had planned all of this from the start, probably even hoped that Adah would try and "mock" the murder the way she did by presuming her target would be wearing a breastplate, but wasn't.

"I also hope you realize that this now makes you guilty of murder," Methusael continued, pulling Adah's bloodstained cloak off her and tucked it under one arm, an act she did not resist, "an act I can pin on you at anytime if I ever should need to with the right evidence," he motioned to the cloak, then leaned even closer to whisper into Adah's ear, "Now you're in this just as much as I am. There will be no backing out now."

He briefly rubbed Adah's fur between her ears, adding further insult to the injury, then while grinning shamelessly, rose, and calmly strode off, entering into the castle through the closed door just paces away, leaving Adah were she was, kneeling in the snow with no warm cloak covering her, stunned into complete silence.

Of the many thoughts that crossed through her mind while she was kneeling there for the next several moments, one of them was wondering whether or not Methusael was doing all of this on purpose, to try and break her will and keep her from resisting his plans, and whatever parts of them that involved her.

If so…it was working.


	7. A Plaguing Nightmare

Covers the aftermath of Hax's untimely demise. Adah and Kani also have a discussion. A lot of analysis of oneself and self-doubt, which will and is a common theme of this fanfic.

7.

"A Plaguing Nightmare"

Hax's burial was delayed for two days as the investigation into his murder proceeded, the hope being that the identity of his killer would be revealed. But when no new evidence about the matter turned up, the funeral proceedings went ahead as planned, and Hax was laid to rest on the morning of the third day after his murder. The same morning of the third day that Adah spent brewing over the fact that she was now a murderer.

For obvious reasons, she did not attend the funeral. She couldn't find the willpower nor the want, to do it.

Fortunately, she wasn't the only one. Several others didn't attend. For example, few of the Angolian mice attended the funeral, as a fair number of them were a bit bitter about the blame for murder of Hax being pinned on them, which they rightly believed was being done wrongly. Additionally, none of the surviving royal family attended. Lady Grinta wished to, but was too ill to leave her room, and was terribly distraught anyway, and Kani, probably taking Hax's untimely death the hardest, had locked himself in his study, and was still refusing to exit at the time of the funeral. As a result, Methusael, ironically, presided for the funeral proceedings, another reason Adah didn't attend. The very idea of that made her feel sick.

After the funeral, nothing changed. The mice continued to be bitter. The investigation into Hax's murder pushed on, but still turned up nothing new, and probably would continue that for as long as Methusael wished it to. Lady Grinta continued to be ill. Kani continued to hide in his study to morn Hax's death. Methusael continued to manage the day-to-day matters that took place in Angola as the proper creatures to do it did not.

At times Adah wondered if Methusael had won already, and had gotten what he had wished.

But finally, after a week of this, something finally changed. Kani had a note to Adah's room, requesting that she meet him in his study at the first opportune time. Adah, however, had also locked herself away into her, leaving it only to address issues such as hunger, thirst, and other bodily needs, and wasn't ready to leave her room for any other reason than those. Plus, she didn't dare face Kani, not when she knew that it was herself that was responsible for Hax's demise. So she ignored the note, tore up the parchment and threw it away, pretending that she had never seen it.

The next day, however, Kani simply sent another note requesting the same thing; that she come and visit him in his office at the first opportune time. He apparently thought that Adah simply hadn't gotten the first note and was trying again. Adah treated that note the same way she had treated the first, however, and ignored it. So finally, on the third day, Kani personally sent his servant Mordecai to get Adah, and request she follow him to Kani's study. Adah tried to find some way to excuse herself from going, saying that she didn't want to disturb Kani's peace, particularly seeing that he wished to be left alone a lot lately. Mordecai was an intelligent fox, however, and didn't buy it, knowing that Adah was purposely trying to avoid Kani. He insisted that she meet with Kani.

So, having no practical way out of this, save confessing everything, which Adah knew she couldn't do without grave consequences, she agreed to follow the servant to Kani's study. As she was escorted to the study, Adah was inwardly terrified, and it was all she could do to keep herself from trembling like a creature with its fur shaved off in the middle of winter. What was it that Kani wanted her for so badly? Did he somehow come to suspect her? Or was she entirely on the wrong track? They did have a history of being friends, maybe Kani merely needed one right now? Could she manage that? Could she keep her cool? Or will she finally crack and tell all to Kani?

And if she did that, what would Kani think of her afterwards?

Finally, after what seemed to be an exceedingly longer walk than normal, they arrived at the door of Kani's study far sooner than Adah had hoped. She wasn't ready. But there was no backing down now; Kani was expecting her, and Mordecai wasn't likely going to let her leave. Unless she tried sneaking away, which she was tempted to try, but knew that Mordecai was observant enough that it was unlikely he would fail to notice any such attempts in time to stop her. So she stayed.

Mordecai rapped gently on the study door, then opened it. "Mistress Adah is here to see you, sir," he reported officially.

Adah almost snorted at the proper-sounding title he tacked onto her name. She certainly didn't feel like any kind of mistress anymore, save in gender alone.

"Thank you, Mordecai," came Kani's reply from within the dark study.

Mordecai then stepped to one side to allow Adah through, motioning into the room. Adah glanced at the gesture, took a deep breath, then stepped into the room. Once she was inside, Mordecai exited and closed the door behind him to allow to two to talk in private, though Adah partly wished he had stayed. She didn't really want to be alone with Kani at the moment.

The atmosphere in the study didn't help, either. You could feel the gloom of Kani's sadness hanging in the room, that gloom added to further by the fact that the room was unlit save for the light that filtered through the study's only, but large, window that sat behind Kani's desk, casting it in shadow. Kani himself sat in the chair behind the desk, having turned it so that he faced the window, with his back to the door. Adah could not see his face. Feeling more nervous still, Adah cautiously made her way to stand before the desk. A moment of silence fell

"You…wanted to see me?" she inquired, the best she could think to say.

"You've been avoiding me again, haven't you?" Kani asked, bluntly.

Adah felt her ears droop. "Yes," she confessed, seeing that she could give no other answer that Kani wouldn't see through instantly.

"Is that why I virtually had to have your arm twisted to get you to meet with me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Such an innocent question, but one that spelt trouble if Adah answered it truthfully. Unable to come up with a cover story, and lacking the nerve to tell the truth, she stalled. "It's a long story."

"Seeing how things have been going around here, though, I'm certain I already know a fair part of it," Kani reasoned.

Adah bit her lip. "Kani, I know Hax's death has hit you hard. It's hit all of us hard," she paused, "Myself included, in more ways than you know. I know what you're going through…so I let you be."

Kani was silent for a very long moment, then rose from his chair and turned to face her.

"Someone murdered him," he murmured, "Murdered my only brother, and I don't know who and why. You can't possibly know what's that's like."

Adah realized he was right, because she _did _know who did the deed and why. "You're right," she admitted.

Kani looked down at his footpaws, clearly sad. "It wasn't his time," he murmured, "he had his whole life before him. He was a friend to all. I knew of no one who didn't like him. Why would anyone wish to kill him?"

Adah hung her head, and did not respond. Under normal circumstances she probably would've said something along the lines that she would tell Kani the answers if she knew them. But unfortunately, she did know them, and telling those answers scared her to death.

Kani sat on his desk, and sighed. He seemed to be more thinking aloud than talking with Adah now, as his chain of thought had veered away from her. "Methusael has been persisting that the mice are responsible for my brother's death," he remarked, "He says I should do something about it, as acting lord. But I won't believe it until I see it. There's no motive for the mice to do it. They liked Hax, they _all_ liked Hax. Which actually gives me an idea who might have done it."

Adah looked up sharply at this. "Who do you think it was?" she asked, her voice cracking in fright.

Kani sighed. "I think a fox did it," he murmured, "Possibly someone in this very castle."

Adah's heart started beating in terror so fast, she feared it was going to burst. "Like who?"

"That I don't know. I just know who it isn't. Not Mordecai, not Methusael, not Bluejay, and certainly not you, Adah," he gave her a comforting grin at this, "I don't think it's anyone I know personally. Possibly a lowly member of the royal guard with delusions of grandeur."

Adah avoided eye contact, unsure how she should feel about the fact that Kani was heading in the right direction, and yet was still so far from the truth. Kani continued talking.

"Whoever it is, when I find out who it was that killed my brother, will suffer worse than death."

Adah looked at him for a long moment, and knew what she had to say. "You certainly have that right," she paused, "I don't know how that murderer can even live with herself…or himself, of course…maybe death is what that creature needs. To escape whatever it was that drove that creature to cause such a deed."

Kani was silent as he processed this, rising and turning to look out the window again at the snowy expanses outside.

"What if the murderer killed Hax unintentionally?"

Kani turned to look at Adah, puzzled by her thought. "How can you kill someone mistakenly?"

Adah's eyes locked onto his. "Maybe Hax was mistaken for someone else."

"How? He was stabbed in the front. The killer had to have recognized his face."

"Maybe the killer tried to backstab him, but Hax realized he was in danger and turned to try and protect himself."

Kani looked away. "If that's so, then Hax did so too late."

They were both silent for several long moments. Kani shook his head sadly.

"This has all been just a plaguing nightmare," he muttered, "One I can't seem to wake up from."

Adah hung her head. "I know what you mean."

"It feels like I'm trapped, with no where to go."

"No where sensible at least. You can try to escape still…but it's dangerous."

"Then there's the gnawing sensation that if I were to figure out the truth behind all of this…I won't like what I find."

"You won't like it all, Kani, I can tell you that much," Adah sighed, and sat down on the floor before the desk, leaning her head against it's front, "I just wish I could forget it all."

Kani suddenly perked up, and glanced over at a cupboard on the study wall. Adah noticed, and glanced at him.

"What is it?" she inquired.

"A possible idea," Kani remarked, and wandered over to the cupboard and opened it. In it were two bottles. Kani removed one and handled it for a moment, "Blackberry wine," he murmured, "It's Methusael's favorite beverage. He gave me those two bottles as a gift this past season, obviously with the intent to drink it," he turned and grabbed two glasses from the cupboard and strolled back over to his desk, pulling the cork from the bottle, "Maybe it's time that I do just that."

He set the two glasses down, and started filling one with a drink. "Care for some?" he asked Adah, starting to fill the next glass.

Adah wrinkled her snout. "I never particularly cared for blackberry wine," she stated.

"Nor do I," Kani said, taking both glasses and sitting down in front of the desk beside Adah, "but it's very strong."

Adah glanced at the crystal glass she offered him for a moment. "True," she confessed, and accepted the glass.

"In memory of my brother Hax," Kani proposed for a toast, "May he rest in peace."

"To Hax," Adah agreed, and clinked her glass against Kani's before they both drained their glasses.

They pulled faces at the drink's kick, then looked each other for a moment, before Kani reach around and grabbed the bottle to refill their glasses.

* * *

Several minutes later, the bottle lay of the floor empty, and both foxes were now very drunk. But on the upside, they were both in much better spirits, and for the first time in days, they both had a reason to laugh again. They had forgotten that reason at the moment, their minds as clouded with drink as they were, but it was a reason either way, and they were laughing heartily for several minutes. They started to wind down, but then started back up again, pretty much laughing at nothing now.

But it felt good to laugh.

"Whoo-hoo-hoo, it's been a long time since I've laughed like this," Adah remarked in-between giggles.

"Can't say I've had a good reason to laugh lately either," Kani agreed, going to swig from his empty glass for the third time, only to remember again that it was already empty, "Plagues'n'pestilence, this blackberry wine…stuff…is very liberating when drank…drink…er…drunk in large qual…quantities."

"No wonder Methusael loves it so much," Adah remarked, "And to _think_, he doesn't show it. He's always so _serious_. You should've seen him when he was talking to me the day Hax died, he looked _so_ threatening, like he wanted to kill me!"

"Ha!" Kani laughed, "I can just picture it! Hax's murder had a really _weird _effect on Methusael that day."

"Oh, trust me, weird doesn't even _begin _to explain it," Adah assured him in a melodramatic voice, "If only you _knew _what went on in that fox's head…"

"Probably just military this, military that, yadda, yadda, yadda!" Kani snorted with a laugh, "Like I care, Methusael! All that militer…millie…military stuff is _your _business, not mine! I'm just acting lord, after all! What do _I _know about any this, anyhow? Of course, why would he care? He never cares about what I think!"

Now Adah laughed. "That is _so _true!" she laughed, "He really doesn't care a thing about what you think, or even what happens to you! He'd probably push you off a cliff, and not even bat an eye!"

Kani was just about dying with laughter now. "Ha-ha, If he ever, hoo, ever did that, why I'd-I'd-I'd, hee-hee-hee, I'd fire him on the spot, ha, right then and there, whoo-hoo-hoo!"

"Aw, how could you if you're falling off a cliff?"

"I'd shout it out as I fell! 'Methusael, you're fired!'"

"No, no, no, it'd be more like, 'Methusael, you're fiiiiiiirrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeddd-whee-hee-hee, great seasons, I _love _this blackberry wine!"

"Oh, so do I, don't know why I've never done this before!" Kani remarked as he went to swig from his empty glass for the fourth time before remembering he was out, and reached over to grab the bottle from where it lay, turning it upside-down and shaking it. Not even a drop fell out. "I certainly wish we had more of this, though, I want more to drank…er…drunk."

"No, no, _we're _the ones who are drunk!" Adah corrected.

"Oh yeah, that's right, I suppose we would be fairly drunk by now, wouldn't we?"

"Ha! What was your first clue, Kani?"

They broke down into another fit of laughter, leaning on each for support as they rested their backs against the front of the desk, until Kani leaned a little too hard on Adah, and they both toppled over. Their laughs cut short to a fit of giggles, they looked at each other, lying side by side.

Kani grinned foolishly. "Y'know, you really are quite bute…bleaut…er…beautiful, Adah."

Adah blushed, and playfully slapped his shoulder with one paw. "Oh, stop it you silly beast, you're just saying that to be nice!"

"No, really, I mean it, you're the most beautiful creature I know!"

"No, no, if you really knew what kind of creature I am, Kani…"

"I just know that you are the most sensible, fun, and beautiful creature I have ever met, Adah." Kani pressed. Adah glanced at him, and saw that he was being dead serious about it, too.

The very idea of that touched her. "Thank you, Kani," she murmured.

They looked at each other for a long moment, then before either of them had really realized it, Kani had leaned in for the kiss, and for several moments, their lips would not be parted. When they finally did, Kani sighed, and rolled over onto his back, staring up at the ceiling, a silly grin on his face.

"You always have had a way for cheering me up, Adah," he remarked to her.

Adah rolled over onto her own back, paws over her beating heart. "So do you, Kani."


	8. A Shred Of Hope

Sorry I'm a day late to update, I had actually forgotten to, believe it or not, which is stupid, I mean, how can you forget to update a fanfic, particularly when you're more than capable of meeting a perfect schedule? :| Anyway, time passes, and most of the chapter is spent covering the details of that passage of time, then Methusael has a new request to make of Adah.

8.

"A Shred Of Hope"

They remained like that for awhile, until both dozed off, and slept for the rest of the night. When they awoke in the morning, enough of the effects of the alcohol had worn off enough that they could think clearly enough to realize the implications of this situation. While nothing of any harm had occurred, they both knew that if anyone found out about this little escapade they had whilst drunk, unwanted rumors would probably arise that weren't really needed at this trying time. It was a miracle that they hadn't been caught already, so they quickly parted ways before that changed. Later, they realized that nothing really productive was gained from their meeting, nothing that really changed either of their situations.

At least, so it seemed.

But while the importance of their various situations was not in any way lost, and still just as troubling and/or traumatic, as in the case of Hax's murder, they found they could handle those situations a whole lot better after that little encounter. Kani finally emerged from the study he had been hiding in and started addressing his busy as acting lord. Hax's death still pained him, greatly, which was no secret, but it no longer crippled it him to the point that he couldn't do his duties.

As for Adah, after Hax's murder, Methusael blissfully eased up on her again, and left her to her own devices. Perhaps he figured that now that she had the responsibility of that murder placed solely upon her, she would behave, meaning he was no longer at risk of her trying to double-cross him. If so, he was both right and wrong. For the moment, Adah was trapped, unable to do anything but obey, fearing both the consequences of her actions and Methusael's threats. But that didn't mean she wasn't still looking for a way out. And she was convinced that eventually she will find a way.

In the meantime, she, too, found she could handle current situations better than before that meeting with Kani. Because in that meeting, Kani confessed feelings for her. This was something he hadn't really done before. It was always clear that they were friends, very close ones at that, so much so they might as well have been calling themselves more than that, but Kani always shied away from doing it. As heir to the throne and thereby a creature to be looked up to, he probably held off due to that.

This gave Adah a shred of hope to hang onto. Despite everything that had happened, she and Kani had managed to pull closer still. Maybe things could still work out good, and then everything could end happily, as they always should have. It didn't change the fact that Adah knew she and she alone was still responsible for a serious crime that should have never happened, and that she still felt immensely guilty for this one bad and possibly unforgivable mark in her history, something she knew that she couldn't and shouldn't ignore, and would one day would have to address it.

But for now, she had time to put it off, until she knew how to get past the blocks Methusael had placed before her. And so, until then, she was simply going to make the best of a bad situation. She would try to continue life as it had once before, as Kani was trying to do now. It wouldn't be easy, but they both knew they had the support of each other now.

Besides, Adah knew that one of the biggest issues that Methusael had that was keeping her under his thumb was the threats against Kani. So long as she stayed in line, Kani was presumably safe, but Adah didn't trust Methusael anymore. He had already deceived her more than once, she was convinced to not let it happen again. Nor did she really believe that Methusael intended to carry out his plans as peacefully as possible while sparing as many lives as he could, Kani's included, but she had no evidence to prove otherwise.

But, unlike before where she had stayed away from Kani for his own safety, now she kept close, keeping an eye on him whenever she could justify it. She was going to make sure, at all costs, that Kani stayed safe and alive.

Angola did not need another death of so prominent a creature on their minds.

* * *

Time gradually passed, with little of anything new in any matter revealing themselves. But then, as winter started to draw to a close, a new matter arose. A transport of supplies heading from the village to Midnight Castle was raided by a party of creatures. Those escorting the transport were not seriously hurt, in fact they were hardly hurt at all. That was clearly not the intent. But the transport was stripped clean of it's supplies, no matter how diverse they were.

At first, no one was quite sure what to make of it, and there wasn't enough evidence to go pointing claws at anyone just yet. Adah, thinking that Methusael was involved, confronted him about the matter, something Methusael clearly did not like her doing. But he answered her questions, and surprisingly, it seemed he had no involvement in the matter, and the raid had come just as much as a surprise to him as it had to everyone else.

Or so he claimed. Adah knew better than to take his word at face value.

Kani had no information about the matter that Methusael didn't, however, despite personally leading the party that investigated the matter. Accounts varied, tracks were unclear, information simply too jumbled about, and no trace of the missing supplies was ever found. Kani wasn't too worried about it though, seeing that no one was really hurt, which he was more concerned about than lost supplies. And after about a week had passed since the event, Kani figured that it was probably just a one time thing.

However, when Methusael suggested that the royal guard stay on the lookout nonetheless, Kani did not disagree with the idea. They both later proved to be glad that they did that, because not long thereafter another raid was conducted. This time it was on a gathering of supplies that were not yet loaded up for transport, and were unattended at the time of the incident. But this time there were more clues to be found. While there was still plenty of room for doubt regarding the identity of the creatures responsible, it seemed likely that the mice were somehow involved with both raids.

Adah, personally, was not surprised. The poor mice of Angola had been through a lot as of late. Methusael was still trying to pin blame for Hax's murder on them after all, a murder Adah _knew _they had no part in. The mice knew it too. A lot of creatures did, not many were really buying into the idea. But regardless, relations with the mice had been strained from the event. It seemed likely that rebellion would arise sooner or later if things didn't improve.

But it did surprise Kani, who had hoped that the mice were more responsible than that, and really wanted to find more proof before going to accuse them of anything more than they already had. And apparently Methusael was caught by surprise as well, as it was not a part of his plans, and possibly interfered with them. If so, then Adah was in full support of what the mice were doing. For all she cared, they could disrupt Methusael's plans as much as they wanted.

And continue they did, for the raids did not stop there. Many more followed as the snow melted and the seasons changed into spring. They struck randomly, not really focusing on any one real target, and their identities remained secret, as well as how many there were. They weren't really being much of a threat to anybody. Regardless, Methusael soon started demanding that something be done to stop them.

Kani, however, wasn't so reckless. He knew they didn't have enough evidence to do much of anything of the sort, but he knew that he couldn't just ignore the matter either. His response to the matter was to heighten the watches, and send out patrols of members of the royal guard to keep an eye out for trouble. He wanted to catch the rebels in the act before he acted further. He wanted proof that more severe action was even needed before he even considered the idea.

But as usual, Methusael took matters into his own paws.

Since Hax's murder, he and Adah had mostly stayed apart. Methusael really only came looking for Adah once every few weeks to check on her, insuring that she was staying line. Adah stayed away from him except for when they crossed the odd path or they were required to be in the same room for one reason or another, save for the time he confronted him about whether or not he had any involvement in the raids. Methusael had also given her no new chores, jobs, assignments or anything of the sort since he had her murder Hax. Adah wasn't sure if this was done intentionally, probably not, but she welcomed the chance to focus on a normal life and try and put the terrible events of the past winter in the back of her mind.

But like always, it didn't last. And finally, Adah received a note from him, much like last time, asking that they meet in his study. Reluctantly, Adah promptly left to answer the request, heading for the study in question, knocking on the door, and entering.

"Adah, thank you for coming so quickly," Methusael said, turning to face her, "I have a new assignment for you."

"I'm not killing any more creatures, I'll have you know," Adah stated immediately and flatly.

Methusael grinned. "Well, we'll see about that in due time," he remarked, leaving Adah to wonder what he meant by that, "Actually, though, this assignment is nothing like that. I think you won't mind doing it. I simply need you to deliver a message," he held out a small scrap of parchment

"What kind of message?" Adah asked quickly, not ready to trust him without more details, "A threat? Blackmail? Did you lace the parchment with poison that will kill the reader when they touch it? Will this message harm anybeast in any way?"

"It is simply some mere instructions asking the reader to keep any eye out for any of the rebels and any trouble they might cause, and report back what they see to me, but otherwise not get involved," Methusael explained patiently, "It will not harm anyone, unless they get a papercut on the parchment."

Adah still looked at the parchment dubiously as she accepted it from the male fox. But upon looking the folded piece of parchment over, it seemed like there was nothing too overly special about it. She started to open it to read what was inside, but at this, Methusael quickly placed a paw on it, stopping her.

"I would still rather that you not read it," he remarked.

Adah looked at him with suspicious eyes. "Who is this message for?" she asked, "Another member of the royal guard?"

"No, actually. It's for no one in this castle, or in the village."

"No where in the castle or village? Where _is _this message going?"

"Out into the woods, where I have some friends camped."

Adah felt her heart sink. Methusael had long alluded to him possibly having helpers in his cause besides her, but this was the first time he actually, verbally, confirmed it. "What kind of friends?" she asked.

"Mercenaries," Methusael replied bluntly, "Vermin mercenaries for hire, that I've hired for my uses."

Adah eyes went wide. Vermin in Angola? She hadn't seen vermin here, regardless of their intentions, in many seasons. Most stayed away, either uninterested, afraid, or just simply knowing better than to wander into a peaceful place like Angola. Probably because peace usually didn't follow vermin. Those who didn't stay away, however, were usually some kind of trader, and seldom got as far as Midnight Castle. They had no business there. Therefore Adah never really thought much about them because of it. They had their lives, and she had theirs, and so long as they did not cross paths, everyone was happy. But the random wandering trader was one thing, trained mercenaries collaborating with a traitor was quite another.

"Vermin mercenaries," Adah repeated to herself, giving Methusael a wary look. This might be a bad idea even for him. "Are you sure it's such a good idea to trust such creatures?"

"I _don't _trust them, and never have," Methusael quickly assured her, making it clear to her that even he didn't like the idea of associating himself with scum like vermin, "I know that they aren't going to take sides in anything that doesn't involve them, my plans included. But, they are undoubtedly good at what they do, and I admittedly need their skills. Furthermore, they made it clear that they won't cause trouble so long as I keep their pockets full of riches in the end."

"Riches?" Adah repeated, "Where are you getting _anything _to pay them with? You haven't been stealing from the treasury on top of plotting conspiracies and the murders of members of the royal family, have you?"

Methusael chuckled at Adah's quick accusation, and shook his head. "No, for the moment, I'm paying them on credit, meaning that I owe them, and will continue to do so for awhile longer still. But I know that won't keep them happy forever, so I don't plan on keeping them waiting forever."

Adah reflexively gulped. This meant that Methusael expected to carry out, and achieve his plans, very soon. But how soon?

"Anyway, I would take the message to them myself, as I have already been doing, but last time I tried it, I was nearly caught by some visitors, and while I managed to provide an explanation for a creature of stature like me to be wandering around in the woods, I'm not sure how well they bought it."

"So you're sending me to do it and take the fall for you instead."

"Yes, but I don't want you caught either. I want you to go in disguise. Wearing a large cloak to hide your features should suffice. Also try and take a discreet route. One around the edge of the village will do. When you find the mercenaries, don't speak to them. One of them I don't think will treat you with much respect if he sees that you are female, so it would be best if you try to not reveal it to them. Assuming, of course, that you will do this."

Adah glanced at the note in her paws. She didn't like the idea of meeting with vermin, but the task seemed innocent enough. She looked up at Methusael.

"I'll do it," she stated.


	9. Only The Messenger

Chapter nine, intros the mercs from "Warrior of Redwall." As I recall, this is really the only time they get any speaking lines, but it was still fun to write for them again. :) After that, so more time passage is covered and starting to get into the details of "Warrior of Redwall." If you've already read it, then this chapter and several chapters after this are going to have a lot of familiar material start popping up.

9.

"Only The Messenger"

A few minutes later found her outside, in the forest having successfully gotten this far without being noticed by anyone else, wearing a heavy and oversized cloak that Methusael had provided (which Adah would've needed to borrow anyway, as Methusael still had her own cloak, the same cloak she had worn the day she had murdered Hax. As it was presumably still bloodstained, Methusael was probably using it still as leverage to keep Adah doing as he wanted, as it was evidence that would prove her guilt for the murder) that seemed to cover everything but her face, and even that was hidden fairly well in the darkness of the hood.

Gripped tightly in one paw was Methusael's message, which Adah had obediently not read as per his instructions. Seeing who she was taking it to, and assuming that Methusael hadn't been lying about the identity of these creatures, which she doubted as there was no motive to that, she was willing to believe what Methusael claimed to be on it. And anyway, the instructions that were on the parchment were actually to keep an eye out for the rebels and their activities, something these mercenaries might have better luck at than the rest of them. Adah was uneasy about the idea of any information gained coming through Methusael, who'd probably twist it to suit his personal needs as he saw fit, but even she had to admit that was probably better than no information at all. Like Kani, she was convinced that the rebels meant little harm, but these raids couldn't go on forever.

She smelled the vermin before she saw them, but inwardly she told herself that she shouldn't be surprised by this. Vermin were notorious for their stench, and it seemed vermin mercenaries were no exception. However, interestingly enough, the smell wasn't nearly as bad as what Adah had been expecting, and was tolerable, even to her sensitive snout. A few paces further, she found the vermin's camp in a small clearing, containing nothing more than a burned-out fire, a small smattering of possessions, and of course, the vermin themselves.

Methusael didn't tell her how many to expect, but there were fewer of them than she was expecting. She figured there wouldn't be many; having large numbers seemed a bit contrary to a gang of mercenaries. But she was expecting to find maybe five to six members in this group. Instead, there were only three. A male weasel, a male ferret, and, surprisingly for Adah, a female rat. The weasel appeared to be the eldest and probably the leader, the ferret was the youngest. The female rat fit somewhere in the middle in age.

Adah stopped at the edge of the encampment, looking into it. None of the three vermin seemed to have noticed her approach, and the vixen wasn't sure how to continue from here. She didn't just want to enter the camp unannounced, as that was not only rude and intruding, but she wasn't sure how the vermin would react to an unfamiliar creature just entering the camp willy-nilly. But Methusael had instructed her not to speak, and for a logical reason, so she was hesitant to speak up and announce her presence, too. It left her with a bit of a dilemma.

Fortunately, the weasel suddenly spoke up, his back turned to Adah so that he couldn't have possibly seen her coming, "Are you going to just stand there all day, or do you have a reason for being here?"

The comment was clearly directed to Adah. Somehow the weasel had found how she was there without looking up from the bowstring he was waxing, proving just how observant he was. Suddenly she was wondering if a cloak was really going to be enough to conceal her identity. Regardless, now that the weasel had drawn the attention of the other two vermin to her, who had not been so observant to notice her before now, she stepped into the middle of the camp silently.

The three vermin stopped whatever they were doing and gathered around the newcomer. Adah could feel their crafty eyes looking her over, particularly that of the weasel's, probably trying to envision what creature lay underneath the cloak.

"So who are you supposed to be?" the ferret asked hotly, folding his arms, "Some kind of spy?"

"Don't be so reckless, Sais, this creature is a messenger," the weasel remarked, scolding, and pointed at the parchment that was in Adah's paw, "Methusael has sent her."

Nodding silently, relieved that they figured it out so quickly, Adah surrendered the note to the weasel, who took it and unfolded it to read.

"So Methusael himself is no longer going to be coming to personally deliver instructions?" the female rat inquired.

"Can't say I'm surprised, that fox would rather let someone else do his dirty work than do it himself," the ferret, Sais, remarked.

Adah could certainly relate with that sentiment, but she didn't say anything.

By this point in time, the weasel had finished reading the message, "Ah yes, the rebels," he remarked as he did so, "Apparently we're now to keep an eye out for them as well, to make sure they do not cause trouble for our employer."

The female rat nodded in agreement. "Probably a wise idea," she agreed.

"What do we do if we catch 'em?" Sais inquired.

"We relay the news back to Methusael."

"But otherwise do nothing?" the ferret sounded disappointed, "What good will that do?"

"One must know his enemy in order to attack," the weasel pointed out wisely, "only one lacking in experience would think otherwise."

Then the threesome started talking tactics about the assignment, trying to work out an agreement between them. Adah, feeling awkward, out of place, and being ignored now, silently excused herself and left the encampment to head back to the castle. She didn't know if the vermin noticed her departure, but somehow figured they wouldn't care too much about it.

She was, after all, only the messenger.

* * *

After that, Methusael sent her on several quick trips to deliver messages to the mercenaries. After a couple trips, Adah started to learn more about them. The weasel was named Grim, and as she had already presumed, was the leader of the bunch. He was the eldest and most experienced of the three mercenaries, and to whom the others looked up to whether or not they actually acknowledged that they did. Adah feared him, because he was undeniably perceptive. Many times she wondered if the weasel had suspicions about Adah's identity.

The female rat was named Aurora, and was second-best in skill to Grim, a fact she didn't seem to mind. In fact she seemed more anxious to learn from the weasel than her ferret companion, and treated Grim with respect, listening and trusting his instructions. She never batted an eye when Adah arrived to deliver a message, so much so, she was virtually ignoring their messenger once the message was handed over to them. Adah didn't mind that so much as that meant it kept attention off her.

As for the ferret, Sais, he was the youngest and newest member to the bunch, and thereby the lest experienced, and it showed. He was very rash, reckless, and impatient. He didn't like to stop and think through plans like Grim and Aurora, and rather just act upon the first sensible idea that came to mind. He seemed to have a problem with tact, too. Nor did he seem to like Adah, not really trusting her, and was quick to shoo her away. Clearly, he was the creature Methusael was worried about causing trouble if he ever figured out who their messenger was. He didn't treat Grim with much respect, and it seemed clear that the two rarely got along. The rift wasn't so bad between him and Aurora, however, who seemed more tolerant of Sais, but only just.

Other than that, their business and Methusael's was fairly uneventful. Mostly, the messages simply consisted of changes in instructions that were brief and to the point. Sometimes the mercenaries had messages to send back, but usually just an uneventful status report. It seems that not even the mercenaries were having much luck in figuring out exactly who was behind the raids that were continuing still as before. But they did manage to uncover more evidence that the mice were behind it. This only urged Methusael on to trying to encourage Kani to take action.

Which, by the way, was happening in vain. Kani was adamantly determined to find the peaceful solution to the actions of the Angolian mice, and refused to succumb to what he termed as Methusael's "cries for war." Adah was pleased with this, as she felt she had seen enough bloodshed in Angola already. That, and the fact that there seemed to be a slow rift growing between him and Methusael.

Speaking of Kani, he had been doing fair, particularly as the spring season wore on, but he was still greatly depressed with Hax's murder, as there was still no leads towards the identity of his murderer, and greatly stressed with the more pressing issues of the rebels and their raids, as well as the continued illness of Lady Grinta. It was also clear that it was all starting to get to the poor fox. He was starting to get severe headaches from all the strain. At one point, he had been stressed to the point that he fell ill with a stomachache for most of the day until Bluejay finally gave him and gave him some kind of medicine for it. It's effects were reportedly unpleasant, but it had the desired effect.

Additionally, Adah had seen Kani visiting Hax's grave, and talking to him as if he was still alive. About what, Adah never knew, as she never got close enough to hear (not that she wanted to hear) but she had a few good ideas. It was clear that Kani dearly missed his dead brother, and it was at those times that Adah felt her most guilty for being the one responsible for that death.

But it was also at those times that Adah was at her closest with Kani. He knew he needed the support of someone who could understand, who could relate to his situation. He needed support from someone more than a friend. And Adah was both willing and able. She had come to develop a kind of sixth sense to know when Kani needed her cheering. She suspected it was usually around the same time she needed some cheering herself, Kani having the same effect on her, despite not knowing it. All he ever seemed to be aware of during these little meetings and eventual conversations was the fact that he always felt better during them. But he did notice that Adah always seemed to turn up at the right times.

"Adah Eventide, you have a certain knack of showing up just when I need cheering up," he remarked to her once on one occasion in early spring, just after Kani had sent off the royal guard on their usual patrols of the village, a practice that had become common in the wake of the raids.

"Well, I enjoy cheering you up," Adah replied with a grin, which was something along the lines of what she always said to those comments these days. It was one of the few things she could say to Kani these days without lying.

"Indeed," Kani remarked, as they both turned to walk off and around the castle. He pointed at his head. "My headache is already gone."

"That's a start."

And from there, their conversations would always wander off to a variety subjects as they wandered around, with no real destination in mind. On this particular occasion, however, they ended up wandering towards Lady Grinta's bedchambers, a fact that Adah pointed out when they were still four doors away from it.

Kani had seemed oblivious to this detail when Adah pointed it out, and blinked in surprise when he realized it was true. "So we are," he remarked, then continued for the door in question, "I hope she's doing all right."

Adah, following, felt obligated to ask the question. "How is she doing?"

"Not well. I mean, her condition hasn't gotten any worse, but it hasn't gotten any better, either," Kani paused for a moment, "I worry about how many days she has left."

Adah was silent for a moment herself, then tried to look at it optimistically. "Maybe that would be for the better," she reasoned, "She would be in a better place, I mean."

Kani shook his head, "I've already lost enough family members the past few seasons. I don't know if I could handle losing another."

Adah felt her heart go out to Kani at this, knowing that he was right. "I'm sorry, Kani," she apologized, for more things than Kani knew, "It's been a rough couple of seasons, hasn't it?"

Kani paused at the door to his mother's room. "More than rough, Adah," he said, "Last spring, father died of old age. Late last autumn, mother falls ill to the point that, being the next in line for the title, I take on her responsibilities as acting lord. Then this past winter Hax was murdered. Shortly thereafter this…rebellion…among the Angolians begins. These past few seasons haven't been rough. It's been a plaguing nightmare. I don't need mother dying to be added to that list. Furthermore, I don't know if I can handle being a lord for real just yet."

Adah doubted that, though. Kani seemed to have managed the duties of acting lord well enough. Knowing that Kani didn't believe that, though, she tried to find something about the matter to look forward to. "But there are upsides to becoming lord, you know," she gave Kani a grin, "I mean, for one thing, a lord would need a lady, right?"

The moment she said it, she regretted it. Now was not the time to point out things like that. As a result, Kani gave her a look that made her wince.

"I'm sorry," she apologized again, "That wasn't funny, was it?"

"No, it wasn't. Adah, you are a very good friend. More than a friend, even. But don't go talking about things you don't understand."

And with that cold comment, he let himself into Lady Grinta's bedchambers. Stung by the comment, Adah sighed, hesitated to follow the fox for a moment, but ultimately did. Inside, Lady Grinta lay in the same place as always, in her redwood four-poster bed. She was awake, but did not look well. Bluejay the healer was also in the room, standing out with her dark-greyish fur as always. She was talking with Kani as Adah entered, Kani inquiring about his mother's health. Grinta, overhearing, answered for Bluejay, pointing out that she could be better, but she could also be worse at the same time. The comments drew Kani over to kneel beside her bed. Bluejay turned back to the medicines she was working with. Adah stayed at the door, feeling like she was intruding, and shouldn't be here. The pit in her stomach told her that she already knew where the conversation was going to go between the mother and son.

"How are you today, Kani?"

"I could be better myself, mother. I might not be ill, but I might as well be. Things haven't exactly gotten better around here."

"I'm sorry Kani, I wish I could do more to help. Things just haven't been the same since your father died, hasn't it?"

"It's not just father. We all knew his time had come. It's...others...who I miss."

Lady Grinta nodded, tears welling up in her eyes, and it was here that Adah started to feel the grief and guilt of murdering Hax coming back to haunt her. "Hax died long before his time," her ladyship remarked, "And so brutally as well. Good seasons, if I could just get my claws on the creature responsible for murdering my son, my handsome young son…"

"I haven't given up looking for the killer, mother," Kani assured her, sounding very determined, that determination sending a chill of fear down Adah's back. What would Kani do if he knew the truth? "Someday I will find the creature responsible and obtain justice."

"Thank you, Kani," Lady Grinta said, running her claws through her son's fur. "But I fear you're wasting your time. The killer is probably long gone by now. I'm sure he didn't stick around once he had done what he had done."

Adah winced, knowing that the killer was closer to them both than either of them knew, and it was then that she decided she shouldn't stay any longer, and turned to leave, feeling very uncomfortable.

Grinta continued talking. "We both need to come to terms with what happened last winter. As much as it hurts to do so, we need to look past Hax's death and to the future."

"I miss him mother. I miss Hax so much. If any creature in this castle should've been lord, it was him. He would've known exactly what to do now. How to treat this rebellion, everything."

Lady Grinta nodded in agreement. "But clearly, it just wasn't meant to be."

Adah fought back tears as she quickly hurried out into the hall outside, unnoticed. "If Methusael and I hadn't interfered," she murmured to herself, "he would've."

* * *

That evening as the sun set, while passing a window, Adah caught a glimpse of Kani kneeling outside, before Hax's grave, no doubt conversing aloud with his lost brother as had become tradition. The sight saddened Adah terribly, and she had to look away. Several times she had thought she should've told Kani the truth by now, and knew that she probably eventually would have to…but she hadn't yet. She kept telling herself that part of the reason why she had held off was in protection of Kani. She knew now that if she told the truth and Methusael found out, he would be more than capable of carrying out his threats. That, and she knew that the truth would likely crush Kani.

But deep down, she also knew she had been doing it in self-defense.

To protect herself.

Now feeling maddingly guilty, Adah hurried away from the window with it's sad view, hoping that Hax's murder would be as bad as Methusael's plans would ever get.

But as always, that cunning fox had other plans.


	10. An Act Of Mercy

This was probably one of the hardest chapters to write for this fanfic, mostly because I knew where I wanted to end up, but figuring out how to do it was hard. I tried several ideas, but none of them worked as well as I liked. This still doesn't quite go as smoothly as I would've hoped (if it's not apparent now, it will be in later chapters) but it's the best I came up with, and I suppose it gets the job done. Anyway, picks up from where the last chapter left off, and has a depressing ending (not that should be surprising).

10.

"An Act Of Mercy"

Adah found out about them the following day, when Methusael called her to his study for a meeting.

"Kani is refusing to listen to the voice of reason regarding these rebels," the fox explained as he circled Adah, clearly frustrated, "Today he decided that it would somehow be wise to unite the royal guard the Angolian militia and have them work _together _to try and find the rebels. I tried to talk him out of it, but…"

"He refused," Adah guessed, grinning at Methusael's frustration. Anything that drove Methusael up the wall was a good thing.

"Yes," Methusael said, frowning at the vixen's grin, "which is why I need to do something to get him to stop this nonsense before he creates more troubles for us all. Something to get him to sober up."

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe Kani knows better than you?" Adah asked challengingly, "Maybe his tactics of promoting trust and peace is the way to resolve this situation."

Methusael looked at her coldly. "Just before noon, there was another raid, but this time on the armory on the borders of the village."

Adah's eyes went wide as she realized what this implied, and turned to look at Methusael.

"Oh yes, they stripped it clean of all the weapons that were in there," Methusael assured her, "Whoever did it clearly intends to start a war. And furthermore, one of the guards that were stationed there and were knocked unconscious for the raid remained awake just long enough to see that it was _mice _who were responsible."

Adah stared blankly at the far wall, stunned.

"This rebellion has been taken a step further than mere raids of supplies," Methusael continued, taking a seat, "This is an act of war. And I need to get Kani to see this before it's too late. Therefore, I need something to get him to realize the truth."

"Like what?"

"I'm thinking of arranging something to happen to his mother…"

Adah's head spun to face him instantly. "Lady Grinta?" she murmured, then turned rebellious, "No! I'm not murdering anyone else for you, not after what happened with Hax!"

Methusael sighed. "I didn't say that…but I understand your feelings about it," he remarked, "It is an option though, and I have my reasons. Having Kani deal with another death certainly could be the wake-up call I need to first get him to deal with the mouse rebellion properly, and possibly the leverage I need to carry out my plans once and for all."

Adah wouldn't hear of it, though, and in her rush of emotions over the matter, started to cry hot tears of fury. "N-no," she persisted, her voice cracking, "I-I can't, I can't put Kani through all of that a second time. Not now. Not ever."

"She's dying anyway, Adah. Aiding her death would only end her suffering that much sooner."

"You don't know that! She could still recover!"

"Don't be unreasonable Adah, she's had more than two seasons to do that. She isn't going to recover. And you know it."

Adah glared at him with tear-stained eyes. "That still doesn't justify murdering her!" she growled.

"It wouldn't be murder," Methusael corrected, "It would be an act of mercy."

"No. I won't do it."

Methusael sighed, and looked at her for a long while. "All right, fine," he finally said, standing, and motioning for her to do the same, "I believe I can avoid something like her murder. We'll just have to come up with some other kind of plan," he paused for a moment, choosing his words, "I'll tell you what I'm going to have you do instead. Go and talk to her for _yourself_ what should be done to achieve my goals. After that, I'm leaving the matter, and how you carry it out, completely up to you."

"I don't think anything can be done to help you achieve your goals any faster or easier than they already are," Adah growled bitterly, wanting no part in this discussion.

"You certainly have the option to decide that, yes," Methsuael said, stepping over to the study door, "Now c'mon."

He then opened his study door, and stepped out and motioned Adah to follow him, before closing it behind her again. Methusael then started on down the hallway, and again motioned Adah to follow him. Adah just stood there for a few moments blankly, not really understanding what was happening here. What was Methusael up to? And did she hear that right, that he really was going to give her the option to bail out of this undesirable assignment? No, that couldn't be right. He had never done so before, even if it meant he had to trick her into doing something. The same would be with this case.

Or he just planned to carry out the task himself.

With that scary thought, Adah quickly followed the fox, at the very least hoping to be able to stop Methusael if he planned to do anything such thing. But seeing that Methusael had that option to carry things out himself since the beginning, but hadn't, that did make it seem unlikely that was his intent. So, what was he up to now?

Of course, Methusael had given her the option of figuring out a course of action herself that suited both of their wants, which, if it meant sparing another life, Adah was not against. He had also suggested starting the planning with a visit with Lady Grinta, and speaking to her. But Adah wasn't sure she wanted to do that. She knew he was right; if Lady Grinta was ever going to recover from her ailments, she probably would've by now. It's just that Adah didn't want to admit it. She didn't want to be the voice of doom for anybody, particularly not for Lady Grinta's own wellbeing. Furthermore, she also knew that Methusael was right that the death of Kani's mother would probably push the heir over the edge mentally, and just might make him susceptible to Methusael's mind games, and she didn't want that.

Methusael knew she didn't, and seemed to even be okay with not doing that to achieve his plans.

So what _was_ he planning?

As Adah had already predicted, Methusael led her to Lady Grinta's quarters, stopping at the door, and motioning to Adah to step on through when she stopped at the door herself.

"Go on," he prompted quietly, "Go in and talk with her ladyship. I'm sure she'd love to have some company."

Adah gave him a leveled stare, starting to suspect that Methusael was still trying to convince her to do another murder and this somehow was supposed to work to his advantage. "What are you hoping to gain from this?" she asked, "Making me talk with Lady Grinta and see how she's doing certainly isn't going to make me change my mind about anything. I still say there is no adjustments to your plan that could be made to speed up your plans of conquest any faster than they already are. At least any plans that we _both_ can agree upon."

"Why don't you prove it then?" Methusael challenged with a grin, "You can talk while I go and take care of other business."

Adah was so anxious to prove him wrong that she agreed. "Fine," she said, and rapped politely on the closed door.

"Enter," Lady Grinta's voice called from within the room.

Adah opened the door enough to allow herself to slip inside, giving Methusael one last look of determination to beat him at his own game before she did, closing the door behind her. Inside the bedchambers, it was currently only Lady Grinta that was present, lying in bed like always. Various herbs and the such lay neatly organized on a sidetable for the use of making medicines, but Bluejay was not here at the moment. Grinta turned to look at her visitor, and blinked in surprise.

"Oh, Adah!" she said, grinning, "I thought you'd be Bluejay. She's probably going to be coming here soon to give me my afternoon medicine."

"Oh, well, maybe this isn't a good time," Adah began.

"Oh, nonsense, if you had been Bluejay, you would've been early anyway, so we have some time still," she motioned to a chair that sat beside her bed, "Please, have a seat."

Adah accepted the offered seat. "How are you doing, Lady Grinta?" she asked, "Better?"

"Better than I could be," Lady Grinta confessed, shaking her head to herself, leaning back on her pillows, "but I'm not recovering, if that's what you're asking. Not yet, at least."

"But you think you will?"

"I honestly don't know, Adah," Grinta glanced at her again, and Adah realized with a start she seemed doubtful, "It has been a long time since I was well."

Adah swallowed uncomfortably, "Yes, it has…hasn't it?" she asked.

A moment of silence fell during which neither spoke for a few moments. Adah shifted around uncomfortably, wondering again why she was doing this. What could possibly be gained from this anyway, for anyone? All it had done thus far was make the idea of conversation between them awkward. Probably not helped by the fact that while Adah and Grinta certainly knew each other, and had always been friendly with each other, they weren't exactly close. Grinta was royalty, and had her own business to attend to, business Adah had always felt she shouldn't interfere with. And there was little reason for Lady Grinta to associate herself with the likes of Adah that frequently, for the same reasons. She had her own duties, and they didn't pertain to Adah. Furthermore, Adah had no real reason or end goal for this visit other than Methusael had insisted upon it, probably trying to get her to do something she didn't want, and felt her presence here was not only unneeded, but also wasn't justified.

So she had been in the middle of trying to think up an excuse to leave when Lady Grinta suddenly cursed.

"Your ladyship!" Adah exclaimed, surprised at the unexpected act of vulgarity.

"I apologize, Adah, but…" the ill leader of Angola shook her head, tearing up a little, "…tell me truthfully. How is Kani doing?"

"Oh, er," Adah paused to think through her response before she said it, "he's doing very well, your ladyship, handling things very well."

Lady Grinta sighed, giving Adah a look. "You're lying, aren't you?"

"No," Adah quickly stated, then, feeling guilty under Grinta's stare, amended herself, "Yes. He's capable, certainly, but…the past few seasons have been so rough on him, with Hax's murder and your illness…"

Grinta sighed and leaned back heavily. "That's what I'm afraid of, I'm not helping him any like this," she murmured, "I wish I could help him still somehow, he desperately needs it, but…well…look at me!" she motioned to her weak body as best as she could, "I can't even get out of bed anymore. I'm not fit to be the leader of this land, and I'm _not _getting better. I don't think I ever will. By all rights, Kani should be officially lord now, but…I can't put that on him, not now. He's not ready," her eyes glistened with unshed tears, "I worry what would happen to him if I were to…pass on."

"So would I, your ladyship," Adah assured her, "I wish there was more I could do to help," she paused, "But I fear that my attempts to do so just make things worse for everyone."

"Oh, pish-posh, Adah, you couldn't harm a fly."

Adah thought about that for a moment, and realized that after the trauma of being tricked into murdering Hax, she wasn't even sure if she had the ability to slay Methusael if it ever came to that. "Not intentionally," she eventually stated.

Grinta glanced at her, saw the depressed feelings on the vixen's face, and suddenly perked up a little and gave Adah a comforting grin as she took the vixen's paw and gave it a squeeze. "Seems Kani isn't the only one who has been depressed," she remarked, "you shouldn't be so hard on yourself."

Adah couldn't help but grin back. "Nor should you."

Grinta blushed a little by being put on the spot, but she laughed and took it in stride, "No, I suppose I shouldn't. Complaining won't get me anywhere." she fell silent for a moment, then furrowed her brow and changed the subject, "I forget, was there a reason you came by to see me, Adah?"

Adah blinked, caught off guard by the question she knew she had no decent answer to. "Um, not really, I was just passing by, and thought I'd visit for a few moments," she remarked after a moment's hesitation, then used that to as an excuse to prepare to leave, "In fact, I think that maybe I should go now."

"Oh, no, please stay," Lady Grinta asked, "I could use the company."

"No, no, I don't want to intrude, and you clearly aren't in the best of spirits, and I'm not helping with that, so…" Adah started to turn to leave, but paused when she noticed for the first time that one of the bowls of herbs on the sidetable was almost empty. She picked it up and studied it. "Should this be so empty?" she inquired.

"Oh dear, no, it shouldn't," Grinta remarked, perking up at the sight of the nearly-empty bowl, "Bluejay uses that herb to make my afternoon medicine. It tastes very bitter, but it soothes all sorts of pains and aches," she sighed, "I suppose Bluejay will have to go get more when she arrives to make the medicine."

"Well…maybe I can do it for her," Adah asked, seeing this as a chance to help for a change, "Since I'm here."

So, once Grinta had told her what herb was needed to be obtained, Adah departed to refill the bowl. She was surprised to find, as she exited the bedchambers, that Methusael was not there waiting for her, but then remembered he had commented he had other business to attend to, and decided that either way she wasn't going to question the stroke of what she considered to be good luck. She ignored Methusael's absence and took the bowl straight to a special storeroom where herbs were kept (save for a select few that Bluejay personally kept elsewhere, as they were more potent and required more moderated use), and sought for the container that held the dried herb.

She quickly found two containers, one of which was sealed still (to preserve the herbs within) so Adah used the other, more empty, one. It had just enough in it to refill the bowl. Satisfied with her work, she took the bowl back to Lady Grinta's bedchambers, and was pleased to see she had arrived before Bluejay, who would likely arrive soon.

"Here we are, your ladyship," Adah said, returning the bowl to it's proper spot.

"Thank you Adah, you really didn't need to do it," Grinta commented, pleased regardless.

"It was nothing, your ladyship," Adah said, "I'm happy to be of service."

And with a few final parting words, Adah departed again, and seeing the Methusael was still nowhere to be found, she returned to her own bedchambers, and sat down on her bed to read a recordbook she had been studying, and didn't think another thing about the matter. Methusael probably would come back and again press the issue of his plans, but after that discussion with her ladyship Adah was only more convinced that she wasn't and wouldn't going to come up with any ideas that would speed Methusael's plans, confident that the matter couldn't progress so long as she refused.

And she planned to do that for as long as possible.

So she purposely did not dwell on the matter further. Out of sight, out of mind, so to speak.

But after she had been in her bedchambers for a long while, she suddenly heard a commotion going on outside with what sounded like a lot of panicked creatures hurrying past. Both curious and alarmed at the urgent sounding sounds she was hearing, she went to her door and looked out into the corridor, and gasped at the terrible sight that greeted her.

A party of creatures were rushing past, carrying what appeared to be a severely wounded member of the royal guard, moving him to the infirmary further down the corridor. The poor beast looked like he had just been in a war, something Adah didn't think was even at risk of happening in Angola. She quickly pulled one of the escorting creatures aside and requested the details of the matter.

"It was an attack, Mistress Adah," the creature told her quickly, "A vicious one on two patrols composed of both members of the royal guard and the Angolian militia. This poor soul is the only survivor."

Adah was flabbergasted by this appalling news. "Who attacked?"

The creature hesitated, and looked around to see who was listening before telling her. "We don't know yet," he began, lowering his voice, "but they were attacked with Angolian weapons."

"Angolian weapons?" Adah repeated, shocked, but the creature had to quickly excuse himself and leave as he was getting left behind. Adah let him go, and thought what she had just been told through further. She suddenly remembered the preciseness of the wounds that were dealt to the injured creature, and at that moment knew better than to pin the blame on the obvious. "Methusael," she growled, and hurried off to find the fox in question.

She found him, consequently, not far from Lady Grinta's bedchambers, carrying an empty goblet and heading away from said room, possibly having just left there. He looked perturbed by something, and probably not in the best moods to be confronted with anything, but Adah could care less at the moment.

"Methusael!" she hailed angrily as she approached the fox, intercepting him.

"Adah, I was wondering where you had gotten to," Methusael greeted, acting calm as he usually did, "I take it you heard the news, then."

"Yes, and I don't buy it for a moment," Adah said, pressing her face into his, "_You _arranged for that attack on those patrols then turned around and tried to blame it on the mouse rebels, _didn't _you?"

"Whatever gives you that idea?"

"The fact that you have a threesome of mercenaries that are quite skilled in combat, and are the more likely ones to have dealt the sole survivor of the incident such precise wounds than anyone else."

Methusael grinned slightly, and nodded his head at her, stepping around her to continue on. "You're learning fast," he remarked, essentially confirming the truthfulness of the theory.

Adah felt her fury double in strength as she watched him walk away, fuming. "You…you…you…" she growled again and again, unable to find the right words to describe Methusael's treachery at the moment, "How could you? What can you gain from this?"

"I imagine you'll see in due time won't you?" Methusael called back to her without turning, and said not a word more on the matter.

So Adah just stood there, glaring at the fox's back as he walked away. However, Methusael got a few more paces down the corridor before he stopped suddenly, as if remembering something, and turned back to face.

"Oh, one more thing that might interest you to know, seeing that you don't seem to know already," he said, "I just learned that Lady Grinta passed away a few moments ago."

And with that calm, emotionless, comment, he turned and continued walking away again.


	11. Being Tricked

11.

"Being Tricked"

The night that followed was terrible for Adah, who was shocked by Lady Grinta's unexpected death, as they all were. What probably shocked her the most was the fact that Lady Grinta was very much alive and well just earlier that day when she visited her, and seemed perfectly fine, at least as close to it as she had been lately. She was nowhere near death. So what happened that struck so suddenly that it killed her?

No one was giving her an answer. Most were just as lost as she was, and was wondering the same thing as she. And as for Methusael, he remained tight-lipped about the matter. Adah wasn't sure what to think about that, he really didn't know for certain either, but then again Methusael had already proven himself very adept at hiding the truth. She suspected that he at least had a hunch. The fact that he only had a hunch, though, surprised her, as it made it seem that it was distinct possibility that he really had not anticipated the death. Only time would tell.

But either way, Methusael had gotten what he had really wanted anyway. Lady Grinta was now dead.

And as a result, Adah could hardly sleep that night.

But she imagined that Kani was having a even worse night than she. He had just lost yet another family member, at quite possibly one of the worse times possible. He couldn't be taking this well. Adah's heart both went out for him in sympathy and worried for him at the same time. She wondered what his reaction will be to this death. With Hax's murder, he secluded himself away from everyone else in misery for more than a week. What would he do now?

It was one of the many things that was plaguing Adah's mind that night.

Finally, well into the night, after Adah became fairly confident that she wasn't going to get much sleep tonight, and her worry getting to her, she decided to go and check on Kani, to see if he was having similar trouble. She wasn't sure what she was going to do if she saw that he was, but she decided to cross that bridge when she came to it. Sneaking out of bed, she slipped out into the silent corridors and headed for Kani's bedchambers.

Arriving there, she carefully placed one ear against the door and listened. She couldn't hear much, but she could make out what sounded like Kani tossing and turning in bed. Deciding she wanted a closer look, she carefully unlatched the bedchamber door, and nudged it open slightly, with the idea of getting a peak inside. Sure enough, Kani was in bed, and he even seemed to be asleep, more than Adah could say about herself, but it was a very fitful sleep. He was tossing, turning, trembling, and moaning in his sleep, possibly having some kind of bad dream.

Adah stared and watched in alarmed fascination, unsure what to do now. But the door that she had nudged open had continued to open gradually until it thumped against the wall. The thump it made wouldn't have seemed that loud during the day, but in the middle of the night in a deadly silent castle, it seemed several times louder. With a gasp, Adah quickly ducked back into the corridor, and listened carefully to see if Kani heard the thump with a beating heart. She hadn't thought about it up until now as she was so sleep deprived and probably not thinking straight, but peeking in on Kani like that seemed both wrong and very suspicious feeling. She wasn't sure what Kani would think of her spying on him like she had been.

While it seemed that Kani had indeed heard the thump, though, as his rustling suddenly stopped and he was heard sitting up and looking around, after a few moments and apparently upon finding nothing out of the ordinary, all fell silent again as Kani apparently went back to sleep. When it became clear that Kani wasn't coming out here to investigate the noise, Adah let out her breath and relaxed a little, walking away and heading back to bed, regretting her poor choice of coming here in the first place.

Whatever the case, she only became more worried for Kani, knowing that whatever he was dreaming was probably induced by recent bad events.

* * *

At dawn that morning, Lady Grinta's body was laid to rest, next to Hax's grave.

Unlike Hax's funeral, Adah attended this funeral, partly because she felt she should be present for this one, and because she felt Kani would need the support of a friend. Thereby she insisted that she by his side for the proceedings. In the end, however, Kani got through the funeral proceedings remarkably well and managed to keep fairly calm. It was Adah who needed the support, because as she watched Lady Grinta's body be lowered into the grave, the trauma of it all got to her, and she got very light-headed and very nearly collapsed into tears several times.

Methusael conducted the proceedings at Kani's request.

* * *

After the funeral proceedings, Kani was officially inaugurated as the lord of the land, and was crowned. It was a very sober event, and was kind of done half-heartedly. Adah was pleased to note, however, that instead of Methusael placing the crown on Kani's head, as it was the usual tradition, Mordecai did it instead. Adah was further pleased to notice that Methusael seemed a little put out by that. Obviously the rift between the two that had been growing as of late was still present.

Kani wore the crown long enough for the rest of the ceremony, but then quickly removed it and returned it to his box the moment it was over. Adah could tell he didn't really want anything to do with that crown.

* * *

After the ceremony had concluded, a late breakfast was held for everyone. It was intended to be held in celebration of Kani's crowning, and was usually a cheerful and happy event, but today it was understandably silent and depressed. Kani was given an extra special meal as part of the event, but he didn't eat it, and eventually excused himself and was absent for the rest of the meal.

Adah didn't really feel like eating either, but she stayed and forced herself to. She sat beside Bluejay who looked to be doing the same thing. For a long time, neither of them spoke. There seemed to be little that needed to be said. But the silence eventually got to Adah, so she finally broke the silence with what she hoped to be a conversation starter, albeit a depressing one.

"It's been a rough couple of days," she murmured aloud.

Bluejay nodded in agreement. "I pity Lord Kani," she said, "He's the only living member of his family left."

Adah blinked, and lowered her head, not liking being reminded of this terrible fact.

"How do you think he's handling all of this?" Bluejay asked next.

"Not well," Adah replied, "He's doing better than when Hax was…murdered…but, uh, I don't know if he can keep it up forever."

Bluejay's ears drooped at this news. "That is not good," she said with a sigh, "I need to talk to Kani."

"Why? What's to talk about? His mother's passed on, short and simple."

"A great deal actually," Bluejay looked at her with a deadly serious expression, "You're not going to like this, but Methusael told me when…"

But whatever it was she was about the say, she didn't get to finish it as suddenly two members of the royal guard arrived at her chair.

"Mistress Bluejay, you're to come with us," one of them said, as they pulled her up.

"What?" Bluejay said, turning a little pale as she looked back and forth between the pair, "What for?"

"We have orders to place you under arrest and bring you before his lordship for questioning," came the response.

"Arrest?" Adah repeated, rising also, but the guards ignored her as they took Bluejay and started leading her away.

Bluejay did not resist. In fact, she seemed to have an inkling of understanding about what this was about.

Adah felt a bad feeling rise up her throat, and quickly followed the two guards. They went straight to the throne room, where, as expected, Kani was waiting, along with a smattering of other creatures who had turned up to watch, mostly out of curiosity, it seemed. He sat in the throne, looking ill and weary, but also overcome with emotion, anger being one of the more predominant. Mordecai stood beside him, trying to help keep him calm. Adah quickly hurried over stand beside Kani upon her arrival, if only to ask for an explanation, but Kani's look made it clear that she wasn't to say anything to him about the matter just yet. He wasn't in the mood.

Also in the room was Methusael, who stood to one side, watching the proceedings. His eyes followed Adah to Kani, which she did not like, but then just as quickly jumped back to Bluejay as she was brought before Kani. Adah turned her attention to the healer vixen as well. She seemed a little puzzled, like she wasn't _entirely _sure what this was about, but like Adah already suspected, she seemed to have a good hunch. She was also repeatedly shooting Methusael dark looks, indicating he played a major role in whatever had led to Bluejay ending up here, but Methusael ignored them. Adah was led to wonder what terrible thing Methusael had arranged _now_.

Bluejay, however, addressed Kani politely, curtsying and everything, although that probably did not help Kani feel better in his present state.

"What is it, your lordship?" Bluejay inquired politely, trying to act cheerful and calm, but not quite succeeding.

Kani was silent for a moment, as he glared at Bluejay during that time. Pushing Mordecai away, he addressed Methusael. "Methusael, state the charges."

Adah blinked in surprise. Charges? What charges?

She didn't have to wait long, as Methusael promptly stepped forward and addressed Bluejay in a official manner. "Bluejay, chief healer of Midnight Castle, you are hereby charged with charges of conspiracy, plotting against his lordship and the royal family of Fennix, and for the murder of Lady Grinta Fennix," he said it with a very loud and flat voice, not giving the seriousness of these rather unexpected charges enough credit, "How do you plea?"

Bluejay had started objecting before Methusael had even finished speaking though, dropping the calm demeanor of before. "Not guilty! I would never...surely you don't think that I...Lord Kani, please, be reasonable, and see that I didn't do any of that! You...you don't really believe all of that, do you?" She looked pleadingly at Kani.

Adah looked inquiringly at Kani as well, as this was all news to her. Lady Grinta, murdered? And Bluejay is being blamed for it?

Kani's response to Bluejay's pleas was very bitter. "Right now, Bluejay, I don't know _what _to think. Just that my mother is dead, and somebeast is responsible! And by the _fur_, I want to know who!"

Adah realized with a start that she knew who. Methusael. It had to be. He really _did _take matters into his own paws, preformed the murder that Adah would not, and was now pinning it on Bluejay, probably the most innocent creature here. Adah stared daggers into Methusael's back, which was currently turned to her.

"I don't know!" Bluejay retorted, the best she could do, obviously. She probably really didn't know.

Kani wouldn't take that for an answer, though. "Somebody here does! And right now, you seem like the most likely creature behind it all, Bluejay. But I don't care who it is, just so long as justice is served! Somebeast murdered my mother, just like somebeast murdered my brother!" he froze suddenly, "By the claw, you did kill Hax too?"

"No!" Bluejay exclaimed, but so did Adah, even though she wasn't acknowledged, possibly not even heard. She knew who murdered Hax. Bluejay had no involvement in that either, and she wasn't going to let Bluejay be blamed for it. "I'm not guilty!" Bluejay continued to object.

Methusael, of course, couldn't resist adding in his two bits at this point. "That's what they all say."

Kani told Methusael to shush, and said to Bluejay that if it wasn't her, then who was it? By this point in time, Adah was having a severe internal battle. She was very tempted to step forward and reveal everything that she knew, and bring Methusael to justice once and for all. This had gone on for long enough. Two creatures had been murdered because of one creature. Things were rapidly spiraling out of paw. It was time that it stopped, and Adah was the creature who would have to step forward and do it. But knowing that in doing so would also reveal her own involvement in Hax's murder, she struggled to find the nerve.

Bluejay was desperately trying to prove her innocence. "How should I know? With all due respect your lordship, I probably know less about the whole matter than you do! I don't _know _what happened or how her ladyship was poisoned, but I had no part in it! All I did was what I had always been doing, preparing harmless medicine and administering it to my patient!"

Adah glanced at Bluejay, replaying what she said back in her mind. Lady Grinta was poisoned? Well, that actually made sense, seeing that the fact she had been murdered had gone this long without being discovered, but now Adah was wondering _how _Lady Grinta was poisoned.

Kani had the answer. "Methusael reports that the poison was in the medicine itself, Bluejay. It was prepared by replacing one herb usually used in the medicine with another, identical one that is deadly. The stores of the herb you kept in Lady Grinta's bedchamber had been completely replaced with this new, poisonous herb."

Adah's heart nearly stopped at this announcement, suddenly feeling about ready to faint, breakfast threatening to not stay her stomach for much longer, as she realized with an indescribable chill of fear what this meant.

She remembered the bowl of herbs she had refilled the afternoon of Lady Grinta's death.

Oh _no_.

And at that moment, she caught Methusael's eye for a split second as he glanced expectantly back at her and realized she had been successfully tricked yet again.

And now Adah was to blame for yet another murder.

Bluejay, at the moment, was looking exactly how Adah felt at the moment, turning very pale and falling to her knees in shock. "What? I…I…I gave her poisoned medicine," she shook her head, "Master Kani, it wasn't me! I…I…how…I…" she trailed off, unable to say more, fighting back tears.

Adah then realized that Bluejay was about to be blamed for everything, and, knowing the punishment for murder, she looked at Kani in alarm. He couldn't do this! He couldn't allow an innocent creature to be executed for a murder she had next to no part in! _She _couldn't allow that to happen.

Kani, however, made no comment, and was suddenly lost in deep thought.

Methusael took over. "A likely story. You can't even bring enough evidence to prove that you aren't guilty."

"Methusael, be quiet please, and let me think," Kani urged suddenly.

Methusael didn't seem to hear. "The odds are very much against you, Bluejay, you might as well confess. You are too skilled at your work at a healer to prove yourself not guilty, you could've easily poisoned her ladyship, and clearly, you expected some kind of profit from it too. How long have you been plotting against her?"

"Methusael…"

Bluejay gave Methsael a terrible look that Adah could relate to, and gave Methusael's back what she hoped to be a similar glare. "I didn't do it. You can't _truly _prove it either, you just have enough evidence to fit the most _obvious _creature to blame. Me! But I didn't do it! I would never do such a thing, and why should I? My family line has been loyal to the rulers and masters of this land for many seasons, for untold generations! _And we have never betrayed anybody!_"

"No better time to change sides, isn't it?" Methsuael jibed.

"Methusael, SHUT UP!"

All eyes shot to Kani, Methusael immediately falling silent, caught off guard at the outburst. Adah, despite everything, had to resist the urge to praise Kani for finally telling Methusael to shut up. About time somebody did. Now that Kani had silence, though, he allowed it to continue for a few more minutes as he thought, studying Bluejay as he did so. He was gradually calming down, but he was the only one. Methusael was still stung by the outburst, Bluejay was clearly terrified, the onlookers were stunned, and Adah was leaning against the wall behind her so to keep from passing out, trying to keep the emotions she felt from being tricked into murdering Lady Grinta at bay long enough to get through this unprecedented trial of an innocent person.

Finally, Kani made his choice. "Put her in the dungeons. She is to stay there for the time being, but she is to be treated well. Make sure she had plenty of food and water, and anything else, within reason, that she might need. Now please, go."

The guards obeyed immediately and with a little prompting managed to move the stunned Bluejay out of the room to be locked up. Adah felt her stomach sink further into the pit of guilt that dwelled within her, and felt even more ill at this, even though the punishment wasn't what was expected, and was actually better than the alternative. The proceedings were rapidly breaking up from there. The onlookers were beginning to leave, and Kani rose in preparation to depart.

"Lord, I must question this choice," Methusael objected suddenly, moving to block Kani's path, "All the evidence suggests…"

"I _know _the evidence, Methusael, you explained it all to me unless there's something you left out," Kani interrupted contemptuously

"No, sire. But Bluejay has been convicted for murder. Our laws state…"

"I _know _the laws, Methusael, but I have the right to determine when they should be used. But you so-called evidence isn't evidence. It's only a theory that happens to fit the facts. You don't know with any more surety than I do that Bluejay killed anybody. Therefore, I will not condemn a possibly innocent creature to death until I know _for sure _that she's guilty. For all you know, she could've been framed! Leaving the real killer free to strike again! Look, she's being locked up for the time being, if she _is _the killer, then we have nothing to worry about for the time being. Be happy you have that much, Methusael."

He pushed past Methusael and started on his way, but Methusael again moved to block it.

"Master Kani, with all due respect…" he began.

Kani cut him short. "Prove to me, and I mean actually _prove_, that she killed my mother, Methusael, then I'll let you _personally _carry out the execution."

And with that, he left, Mordecai quickly following after him like the loyal servant he was. Methusael watched them leave as he gave his answer.

"Yes milord."

Then he departed as well. Adah watched him go, hesitated for a second longer, then hurried after Kani, keeping pace with Mordecai, her choice made. She was going to tell him everything. Regardless of the consequences. This had gone on far enough. More than far enough. If Adah didn't reveal all soon, who knew where this could next, what terrible things would soon follow.

Kani went straight to his study, and did not address the presence of his two shadows until he had settled himself into his desk. With a sigh, knowing that both creatures needed addressing, he chose to start with Mordecai, the simpler of the two to deal with, Adah knew.

"Mordecai, you're excused from your duties, go please," Kani instructed.

"Yes milord," Mordecai said and without further comment, departed.

That left Adah, who wasn't going to be turned down so easily. And Kani knew it, but he tried anyway.

"Adah, I'm really not in the mood to talk."

Adah closed the door behind her with her footpaw. "Tough, you're going to listen."

"Well, what is it you wanted to say?" Kani snapped angrily, "That I'm making the wrong choice? That I'm letting my grief for the murder of my family cloud my thinking? That I'm letting a killer off easy? That everything will work out in the end? Because it _won't _Adah. I know it. I think that my troubles are only just going to get _worse, _I know it. Something terribly wrong is happening here, and by the fur and claw, it seems that it's all meant to drive me up the wall. And oh, it's driving me up the wall, all right! So far up that I'll hurt myself when I stop and fall back down!" he cursed suddenly, "Adah, I can't handle this. I…I just can't. I shouldn't have to do this, I never should've have to deal with _any _of this. If things had gone as they _should've, _mother would still be happily in control of her lands, those lands would still be at peace, I would still have a brother, and…" he trailed off, shaking his head, "Good seasons, I would still have a family, too. A actual, living, breathing, family…oh by the fur…"

And before Adah could say anything, Kani broke down under all of the grief. Slapping the desktop repeatedly and dropping his head down onto it, he broke down into tears and bitterly wept. Adah silently watched him do this for several moments, and felt her heart pity him for his predicament. Her nerve quickly failed her after that, and she couldn't bear to bring Kani anymore bad news by telling him the truth.

So…she didn't, and held her tongue about the matter further still.

And for a moment, Adah simply stood there and watched Kani. He had stopped crying just as quickly as it had begun, and now just sat there with his laying on the desktop, but that still didn't change the fact about how sad and pitiful he appeared. Adah hesitated a moment, then did exactly what seemed to be natural to her. She approached Kani and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close into a caring hug. Kani did not resist, and in fact, hugged back, resting his head against her body.

"I just wanted to tell you that you did the right thing, Kani," she said, knowing she could say that much truthfully.

Kani was still a little teary eyed as he challenged the comment. "Did I, Adah? Because I certainly hope you are right. I don't think I can handle it if I'm wrong."

Adah nodded in agreement, a little teary eyed herself. "I don't think you could either."


	12. Such A Monster

The ending of this chapter presumes you have read "Warrior of Redwall" already, so if you haven't, it's significance won't be apparent until either next chapter, or more likely, a couple more chapters down the road.

12.

"Such A Monster"

They didn't talk much more after that. There was little need to, Kani simply needed comforting, as did Adah, so they both silently tried to give it to one another. It had been a rough day for them both. Finally, Kani declared he was in better spirits enough to continue working, and in late of the bloody battle that had killed three creatures yesterday, there was plenty to be done. So Adah left him to it, and exited into the corridors of the castle yet again.

After that, she sought Methusael. They needed to talk.

She found him at the exact place she'd figured he'd be at. His study. He was in there doing work. He probably didn't want to be disturbed, but Adah entered without permission anyway.

"Adah!" Methusael exclaimed when Adah somewhat nosily entered, "This is a surprise."

Adah pressed her face into his, glaring at him. "You _tricked _me again, you _monster_." She hissed.

Methusael blinked. "I tricked you, eh?" he asked, acting nonchalant, "how so?"

"Don't play dumb, you know exactly what I'm talking about. The murder of poor Lady Grinta! A murder you decided you just couldn't continue without arranging, _could you_?"

Methusael, still acting calm, gently pushed Adah a pace away from him, so she was no longer violating his personal space anymore, before he answered slowly and methodically. "What you say is true, I decided that Lady Grinta's demise was necessary in order for my plans to continue. I've already explained the reasons why."

"Leverage to try and get Kani to obey you."

"More or less. And I will admit that there was trickery involved in order to accomplish it. But I honestly cannot recall any part of it that specifically involved you."

Adah couldn't believe his nerve. "Stop it!" she snapped, "Stop _lying _to me! You deliberately forced me into your schemes, yet again! _You _made me think that I was staying out of it, and then…"

"If you are referring to the fact that you are irreversibly tied to all of my plans and thereby will be forever involved with what I do by fact of association, then yes, you were pulled into the matter!" Methusael snapped back, rising from his chair suddenly, "But my plans regarding Lady Grinta's poisoning _did not involve you_! You made it very clear that you did not want to be the creature responsible for carrying it out, and I didn't want to force you into it for fear of pushing you too far! So I excluded you from them!"

"_Liar!_" Adah exclaimed, still not believing him, "You _deliberately _put me in Lady Grinta's bedchambers to allegedly speak with her so you could trick me into…"

"I put you with Lady Grinta to keep you _out of the way_!" Methusael corrected, interrupting.

"…So _you _could go and fill that container of herbs with the poisonous ones while no one was looking!" Adah said, continuing from Methusael's last statement, "Then when I took that empty bowl of herbs down to the storeroom to refill it, _exactly as you had hoped_, it would be filled with the poisonous ones instead, thereby setting the scene for Lady Grinta's death and a creature to blame it all on!"

At this, Methusael's anger vanished, and was replaced with shock. "Hold on a moment," he said suddenly, "You mean to tell me that it was _you _that refilled the bowl?"

Adah's anger also vanished, as she realized for the first time that Methusael was genuinely surprised by this, and felt a growing sensation of dread building up within her.

"Adah, I was fully expecting _Bluejay_ to be the one to refill the bowl when she noticed it was nearly empty when she went to make her ladyship's afternoon medicine!" Methusael continued to explain, "I didn't expect to be the one to refill the bowl when she noticed it was nearly empty when she went to make her ladyship's afternoon medicine!" Methusael continued to explain, "I didn't expect it to be _you _of all creatures to do it. I was counting on it being Bluejay so I could blame it _all _on her! No _wonder_ she was so persistent that she wasn't involved. I mean, she wasn't, but she didn't even stop to question herself if she had somehow made a mistake and obtained the wrong herb or anything! As a result, she has enough evidence to know that someone has framed her!" Methusael let himself fall back into his chiar, his mind hard at work as it thought out the consequences of this unexpected outcome.

Adah, meanwhile, simply fell silent, too stunned to say or do anything more. Save for the fact that Methusael had switched the herbs, it was Adah who had, yet again, unknowingly carried out another murder. She reasoned to herself that at least this time it wasn't her who did the final act that would kill them, like she had done when she stabbed Hax, nor was she actually present for the death, and that who bore the responsibility for the murder could be questioned endlessly, but it was all half-hearted. Regardless of the circumstance, she knew one couldn't reason away what was blatantly murder.

By this point, Methusael reached a decision, and quickly rose again. "I need to start pressuring Kani, now, to revoke his original commands, and have Bluejay executed as quickly as possible, before she gets a chance to talk to other creatures about what she knows…"

"No!" Adah exclaimed, moving to stop Methusael, "Don't! Let her live! _Enough _creatures have died already! Don't turn this into a bloodbath! Whatever happened to the idea of doing this _peacefully_?"

"Not everything has gone according to plan," Methusael pointed out seriously, then made a mocking laugh, "Besides, it's not my fault that you carried out my plans without either of us even meaning to."

That earned Methusael a slap across the face from Adah, that cut short any further comments. Wincing, he glanced back at the furious Adah.

"You are such a monster," she growled.

"Maybe so," Methusael said, running a paw across his sore face, "but even monsters deserve a chance to obtain what they wish."

"No, they don't!" Adah argued, jabbing an accusing claw at Methusael, "And I'll have you know that this can only end with your death, Methusael."

"I suppose we'll see about that, won't we?"

"Yes, we will."

And with that, she turned around on her heel and stalked off, leaving through the still open study door. Methusael watched her go with an annoyed look as he continued to rub at his sore face.

* * *

After that conversation with Methusael, Adah was quite shaken emotionally with what she learned. Even without meaning to, she killed an innocent creature. What kind of creature was she? It didn't help any that Methusael had tried to rub it in her face like he did. She was enraged at him for that, and so many other things he had done, that she felt like she could explode. But she was also terribly overcome with sadness for the trouble it all has caused, what she, herself, had done, and above all, the fact that she couldn't seem to do anything to stop Methsuael's plans. No matter what she tried to do, no matter how much nerve she tried to gather, they continued onward.

Adah promptly went back to her bedchambers and there finally broke down. Flopping onto her bed she cried herself to sleep. It had been a bad day for everyone today. Except Methusael. This day just needed to end before it could get worse. But little did Adah know that one last event would take place that day, that would change the playing field.

Because, that night, Mathoni would arrive in Angola.


	13. To Play My Paw

Picking up from where last chapter left off. Don't really have anything more to say than that. For those who have read "Warrior of Redwall" this chapter and the next several to follow might seem a little repetitious, but stick with me here. Reviews wanted. Etc, etc, etc...

13.

"To Play My Paw"

On this particular occasion, Adah did not get the opportunity Mathoni, nor even get the chance to see him. But Mathoni was a young otter, not _quite _fully grown, who was native to, and from, a place called Redwall Abbey. Few Angolians had heard of it at the time, but it stood somewhere to the far west from Angola, in Mossflower Country (which unlike the abbey, was a bit better known to Angolians). Mathoni had traveled all the way from here to get there, and, unaware as he was what things were currently like in the land, just walked into the village and looking around. As Adah had later been told in detail by Kani, the otter had eventually crossed paths with two patrols, who stopped him and asked him to identify himself. Seeing that he was an outsider here with peaceful intents, Mathoni was then brought to Midnight Castle and met with Kani and (unfortunately) Methusael.

Once there, however, things proceeded smoothly. Mathoni explained that he had been sent up here to return a medallion to a mouse that he had been told lived in the Angolian village. It had apparently been given to another creature who lived at Redwall who had passed through Angola many seasons before and was a good friend with the mouse, named Mormon. Unfortunately, however, Mormon was dead. Adah dimly remembered being told he died the same day as Hax had been murdered, having died from complications with the flu that was going around at the time. Naturally, though, given that day had gone for Adah, it was barely remembered.

From there, due to recent events having taken place in Angola, Kani and Methusael quickly agreed that it was probably a good idea that Mathoni not stay, and begin traveling back to his home immediately. Kani apologized to Mathoni for the trouble of coming up here in vain, and was sent on his way, accompanied by an armed escort at Methusael's request, presumably to ensure that Mathoni indeed left the village safely. Obviously, Methusael did not trust Mathoni, or, as Adah suspected, feared Mathoni's presence would further complicate his plans. Kani, on the other hand, seemed to take a liking to Mathoni, particularly his unintended innocence about the issues occurring in Angola once they were told to the young otter. As such he spoke in Mathoni's favor, but agreed that it would probably be best for Mathoni to leave, and thereby supported Methusael's proposals for the most part.

Unfortunately, Mathoni didn't get as far as leaving Angola.

Word would later reach Kani the same evening that Mathoni's escort had been attacked, presumably by the rebels. The guards were all knocked out cold, but otherwise were alright. But Mathoni had vanished by that point in time, and for the moment, was nowhere to be found. It was presumed that he was either kidnapped by the attackers, or had ran off in fright during the attack, and simply hadn't been found yet. Whatever the case, there was little Kani could do about it except to send out what patrols he could spare to go looking for the otter and hope for the best.

The following morning, however, when Adah was told most of all of this from Kani shortly after the fox had woken up early that morning, was in surprisingly good spirits, even though he couldn't figure why exactly.

"I slept like a rock last night, however, for the first time in the past couple days," he did point out to Adah as they walked along down the corridors, "Maybe that was all I needed."

"Whatever the case, it's good to see you so cheerful," Adah remarked, unable to help but to feel happy for him. Maybe Methusael predictions about trying to break Kani were proving wrong, "Better than being depressed all the time, though you had every reason to be."

"Very true," Kani said, as he started to turn and head down a different corridor than the one Adah was about to head down.

"Aren't you coming to breakfast?" she asked, turning to watch him.

"No, I'm having Mordecai bring breakfast to me in my study," Kani said brightly, "I intend to make use of this good attitude I've got at the moment to get some work done while it lasts."

"Okay, good luck with that," Adah remarked with a laugh, "I'll see you later, I suppose."

They parted ways there, with Adah heading off into the dining hall to get her breakfast. She sat and ate it alone. Unlike Kani, she wasn't exactly in the best of spirits herself, or was at the very least finding it hard to be for longer than a few moments, as yesterday's events were still quite fresh in her mind, as they no doubt were in everybody's mind at the moment. She wished she could share in Kani's unfounded and sudden enthusiasm, though. It would make things easier for her. But then that's what you get for being responsible, even partly, for two totally unnecessary murders.

Adah was still debating whether or not she should tell Kani the truth. She kept telling herself that she could, but for one reason or another, she was losing her nerve to do so. Usually it was done with Kani in mind. Like yesterday when she could've told him but didn't, she did it partly because she couldn't bear to see Kani any more distraught than he already was. She loved him too much for that, something she both savored, but knew was rapidly becoming a curse. She had also planned to Kani this morning on their way to the dining room for breakfast, but Kani proved to be too cheerful, and Adah didn't want to ruin so rare a mood for Kani. Plus, they both parted ways sooner than she was expecting.

But she also knew, and also knew she couldn't fool herself into thinking otherwise, that she couldn't find the nerve to tell the truth because she was too afraid. She feared for her own safety and well-being as well as Kani's. She knew that telling the truth wouldn't come without it's own prices to her. There was fear for Methusael's wrath if she did tell the truth and Methusael found out about it before her truth-telling could be properly enacted upon, and then there was the fact that Adah, no matter how she looked at it, was guilty of murder. Twice. And the punishment for murder was, by law, execution of the guilty party. Punishment by death.

Part of Adah told her it was natural to fear for her life and take step to try and preserve it. All living things had that instinct. There wasn't much point to living if the life in question couldn't do much to prolong their own lives when needed. But the other part of Adah told her that while that was all true, that didn't make hiding the truth anymore right.

Furthermore, Adah was growing worried about Methusael's plans, and she was starting suspect that the fox was getting very close to completing his plans, or at the very least thought he was. Soon it might be too late to tell the truth, and Adah wasn't sure if she could live with herself if she waited that long. If she was ever going to tell the truth to anyone, it had to be soon. Or Angola was doomed to be controlled by Methusael.

Unsurprisingly, Adah didn't have much of an appetite, and didn't eat much of her breakfast.

After eventually dumping her uneaten food, though, Adah was brought out of her morbid revere when she spied Methusael passing by the dining room in a hurry. Knowing that the past couple of times she had seen Methusael do that had brought nothing but bad things for her, she decided to quickly follow, hurrying to try and keep up with his faster pace.

"Methusael!" Adah hailed, trying to get him to stop, "Methusael! Oy, stop! _Methusael_! What have you done _now_?"

"I, personally, have done nothing, Adah," Methusael called over his shoulder, not stopping or even slowing in the slightest for her, and seemed determined to keep that way, and possibly even loose Adah in the process, "Not _yet_, at least. But thanks to the rebels, I may be able to play my paw at long last!"

Adah, not liking the sound of that, pushed herself harder to try and keep up with Methusael, but Methusael already had too much of a head start as was working hard to keep away himself. She tried to lure him into telling her more as they hurried through the corridors, but Methusael remained tight-lipped, and refused to say anything more. He eventually arrived at the door to Kani's study, and without even stopping to knock, just swung the door open and barged right in. Adah arrived at the same door in time to have it slammed shut in front of her, forcing the vixen to skid to a stop.

Having more manners than Methusael, and knowing that discussions were no doubt in progress within the study now, Adah opted to stand by the door and wait for someone to emerge before pressing for details of whatever it was Methusael had to announce, and the outcomes there of. Impatiently, she paced back and forth before the door, waiting, listening with one ear turned to the door, but also trying not to eavesdrop. Whatever it was that was being discussed, discussing they were. Adah could even make out arguing fairly frequently. She could also make out Kani's voice as well as Methusael's, but also a third voice that she presumed to be Mordecai, as she couldn't think of who else could be in there.

Finally, after waiting several long moments, the door opened, and the trio, exactly as Adah had figured them to be, emerged from the study, Kani leading the way, looking serious, but optimistic still.

"Adah!" he said upon seeing the vixen, surprised to see her, "What are you doing here?"

"I heard Methusael had news, I was waiting to hear what," Adah explained, shooting a glance at Methusael before looking back at Kani, "What is it? Is it bad news?"

"No, this might actually be _good _news for a change," Kani announced, grabbing her by the shoulders, "If things work out, we might be able to end the conflict with the rebels today, or in the very near future at the very least."

"End it?" Adah remarked, brightening herself. This wasn't at all the news she was expecting, particularly not after Methusael's cryptic comments about the matter. Remembering that, her heart sank, realizing there had to be a catch somewhere, "How?"

Kani took a breath, "The rebels have requested that I meet with them, in private. They want to talk."


	14. Too Late To Tell The Truth

Apologies for posting this a day late, but I start school again this Wednesday and have been busy trying to getting stuff done before then, and just kind of overlooked posting this on the usual Monday. More review stuff for those that have read "Warrior of Redwall", but like I've said before, it can't be helped, so just stick with me. For those who have NOT read "Warrior Of Redwall", there is more to Methusael's speech, it's just not here, so if you want to read it in detail, you will need to go read "Warrior of Redwall". Or wait until next chapter, I do believe it _briefly_ summarizes the whole speech at one point...

14.

"Too Late To Tell The Truth"

Kani was right, this was good news, and as he said, if things played out right, this could very well end the conflict with the rebels and restore some semblance of peace to the land. But Adah remembered Methusael's comment about the matter, and it was clear he had some idea of how to get this to benefit his own personal agenda. Adah suspected that Methusael planned to sabotage the meeting somehow. Scarier still, it was possible Methusael planned to assassinate the whole bunch of them while they met. He had the mercenaries under his control to do it with, too.

And if Kani went, and that really _was _Methusael's plan, then Kani would be assassinated as well.

So straight away, Adah began urging him to promote the meeting, but not to personally attend it. Send somebeast else. But Kani wouldn't hear of it, and continued preparing for the meeting. He said that Mathoni, the otter from last night, had personally wrote and signed the note that was delivered requesting this meeting, stating that he was involved in the meeting and would be in attendance. Kani's theory was that Mathoni had been captured by the rebels, all right, but had somehow managed to talk the rebels at the same time into the meeting. And he trusted Mathoni, so he determined there was little risk to attend the meeting personally.

Adah thought that Mathoni could be trusted too, but that wasn't the issue. Right now, she was seeing the young otter as a potential casualty, along with Kani.

So later that day, as Kani readied himself depart in the entry hall, Adah gave it one last shot, and accompanied Mordecai, who was bringing a satchel of supplies to Kani, to the room for one last discussion with Kani.

Kani was standing on the staircase leading into the entry hall, dressed and ready to go. He was waiting for Mordecai to arrive with the requested supplies, as well as Methusael to return with his selected armed escort that Kani agreed to bring with (but otherwise was going unarmed and defenseless). As he heard Adah and Mordecai approach him, he turned to face them.

"Good, Mordecai, you got the blank parchments and sticks of charcoal I asked for?" he asked as he turned. Seeing Adah there as well, however, he blinked in surprise, and directed his attention to her. "Adah! What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd see you off, for one thing, your lordship," Adah began as she stepped towards him, purposely calling him by rank as leverage to try and get him to listen to her, "But also, I wanted to try and see if I could talk you out of this."

"Not too fond of this meeting, either, are you?" Kani inquired as he allowed Mordecai to place the satchel of supplies on his shoulder, knowing that this was no secret.

"No, I'm not. Kani…I understand your intentions about this, but do you really think it's wise for the lord of the land to go on this meeting? Can't you just send a representative or some creature such as that instead?"

"They specifically asked for me, Adah, I don't think they'd meet with anyone else," Kani took Adah by the shoulders, probably done as an act of reassurance, but it wasn't really working, "And I know the dangers. And as I told Methusael, I'm willing to risk it. This meeting could mean the difference between peace and war in Angola. I'm not going to pass up this chance," he looked at her face for a moment, trying to read it, "Do you understand?"

Adan paused for a moment to think it through. She knew Kani was making a sound argument, and if the circumstances were different, she'd believe him. However, she knew that Methusael needed to be taken into consideration. She didn't know what, but she knew he was planning something. The problem was that Kani didn't know this, and no reason to even suspect it. Again, she wondered if this might be a good time to tell the truth.

"I understand, Kani. I'm just…" again, she looked into Kani's eyes, and her nerve started to fail her, "I don't know…I suppose I'm…worried."

Well, that _was _true. It had to count for something.

"Worried that I might come back hurt?" Kani asked.

"Worried that you might not come back at all," Adah remarked bluntly.

"It won't come to that, that's why I'll have the guard. Besides, I have no intention to die anytime soon. I'm needed here, in Angola, no matter what problems it faces."

Adah couldn't help but grin at Kani's determination, supposing that if he had enough will, he could still get out of this alive no matter what happened. She allowed that thought to disillusion her into a sense of security, and again withheld the truth.

"I see you're finally warming up to the idea of being lord," she remarked instead as she wrapped her arms around Kani's neck, with the intent of pulling him into a goodbye hug.

Kani was all business, however, and took her arms by the wrists and removed them from him. "Only because I have to," he pointed out to her, "I still don't think I'm ready for this kind of responsibility."

This was one thing Adah was willing to argue to no end, with no fear of the consequences. "Well, no matter what you think, I think you'd make a great lord," she commented, and seeing that she had the chance now, and wasn't sure if she would get another, leaned over and kissed Kani on the cheek. So that no matter what happened, they would both at least have that to remember at the end of the day. Kani did not object to the kiss, and clearly enjoyed it, grinning a little foolishly afterwards.

"Ahem."

Adah jumped and spun around, and with a lurch of her heart, saw Methusael standing at the top of the staircase with a member of the royal guard that would be Kani's escort. Neither of them were showing any kind of reaction to what they undoubtedly saw, but Methusael's eyes locked on Adah, and the vixen sensed that she was going to hear more about this later. Ashamed, she looked away. Kani also looked embarrassed, and was blushing, but not for the same reasons as Adah. Mordecai, also for the wrong reasons, seemed slightly amused, and suppressed a grin. Adah wished she had a reason to suppress a grin, rather than suppress a panic attack.

Methusael nodded his head at the accompanying fox, armed with the usual wooden stave, dagger, and sword armaments the royal guard typically carried as both stepped down the staircase to join them. "I selected a guard as you requested, milord. I hope he suits your needs."

"Yes, he will do, Methusael, thank you," Kani double-checked to make sure he had everything, "I suppose I have everything now, and it's nearly time for this meeting to begin, so I had better be off."

"I suppose, then, that I still can't talk you out of this," Methusael said flatly. For reasons Adah had yet to fully comprehend, he had been siding with her argument, and had been trying to talk Kani out of going. Adah presumed he was just acting as such to avoid suspicion. She was very confident that Methusael completely wanted Kani to go.

"No, Methusael, I made my choice, and I'm sticking with it," Kani placed a reassuring paw on Methusael's shoulder, "But don't worry. You'll see. Nothing will go wrong, and I'll be back here safe and sound in time for supper, hopefully with the beginnings of a more peaceful Angola to present."

"Yes, milord," Methusael said, taking a step back to watch Kani and his bodyguard exit, "Any final orders before you depart?"

"Not very, other than the fact that you'll be in charge while I'm away, Methusael."

_Oh brilliant,_ Adah thought, _Might as well just hand over control of the land on a silver platter_. She became worried again that she wasn't going to see Kani alive again after this.

"I'm not expecting any trouble while I'm gone, but I trust you'll keep every creature in Midnight Castle safe on the slim chance that everything _does _go wrong," Kani concluded with his instructions.

"Of course you can trust me, Kani, I would be hurt if you didn't," Methusael even made himself look hurt by the comment. Adah resisted the urge to snort.

Kani, however, half-grinned. "Of course I can," he agreed confidently, then turned for the door, "Okay, let's get this over with, then."

The doors were opened for his lordship and his escort to depart, and were promptly closed behind them. Methusael, Adah, and Mordecai, all stayed long enough to see them off, Adah giving Kani a half-hearted wave, praying that she hadn't just let him go off to his death. Then they all started to go their separate ways.

"I have other responsibilities to attend to," Mordecai commented to the others, the first to leave, "Master Methusael, Mistress Adah."

"I suppose I have other things I should be doing as well, rather than standing here, worrying," Adah remarked, and quickly turned to leave before Methusael could stop her.

Methusael, however, followed her until they were both out of hearing range of any nearby creatures, and brought up the very subject Adah was dreading he'd bring up. "Adah, do you really see it wise to be getting so close to his lordship?"

There was a multitude of things Adah probably could reply to that, a lot of them not very polite, but she instead held her tongue, shrugged, and didn't say anything. There wasn't really a right answer to that question anyway, one that Adah could live with, at least.

"Merely something for you to consider," Methusael said, stepping past her, "You should know I have no problems with it, but Kani has things he needs to be paying attention to, and not you. I merely ask that you be careful."

And with that, Methusael walked off, leaving Adah standing there dwelling on those comments.

Now she was more convinced than ever that Methusael wasn't at all expecting Kani to return from this trip.

* * *

There was little Adah could do about it now, however, except wait and hope for the best. She went up into one of Midnight Castle's tower rooms and stationed herself at one of the windows to keep a vigil watch for Kani's return to the castle. Several hours passed with her being here like this. Eventually night fell, and the time for Kani's anticipated return came…

…and went. Kani was still absent from the castle. Adah began to grow very, very worried, fearing the worse, but she adamantly thought to herself that she was not going to leave this spot until Kani either returned somehow, or was forcibly removed from this spot.

It eventually came to the latter.

A member of the royal guard came for her that night, and apologetically intruded upon her vigil. "I'm sorry, Mistress Adah," he said, "but I'm here to request that you come to the dining hall immediately."

"The dining hall?" Adah inquired, puzzled, "What's going on?"

"I wish I knew," the guard remarked, "I just know it's under Master Methusael's orders."

Adah felt her heart sink. Curiosity and dread got her to obey, and she followed the guard down to the dining room. Nearly all of the other foxes in Angola, including most of the royal guard, it seemed, were gathered into the spacious room. Not a mouse was to be seen, which was somewhat surprising as even with recent events, a number of mice still served in the castle with minor roles. So Methusael had gathered together all of the foxes in the castle, but not the mice. Adah felt even more uneasy.

The gathering together was talking amongst themselves, sounding very confused and not knowing much more about what was going on than Adah did, though there were rumors, some of which Adah did not like the sound of. Then, out of the blue, Methusael appeared on the first of the dining hall's three balconies and motioned for silence. He quickly got it. After a moment's pause to look the gathering over, he presented the explanation they were all looking for.

"My fellow creatures. I know you are all confused and wondering what's happening here. I assure that there is an explanation. However, in order to tell it, I must first focus on some of the matters that have been occurring in Angola as of late. As you all very well know, our troubles probably began when our beloved Lady Grinta fell ill back in the autumn season. Not ill enough for her life to be in jeopardy just yet, particularly not with our wonderful healers watching over her, but ill enough to not be able to continue with her duties as lady of the land. As her husband, the late Lord Jarren Fennix, had already passed on at this point, Lady Grinta chose her eldest son, Kani Fennix, the next in line for the throne, to take over her duties hopefully temporarily. From there, things rapidly grew worse here in Angola."

Some murmuring broke out at this, and Adah felt even more uneasy, if it were possible. Methusael again motioned for silence, and continued speaking.

"I will say now that none of this was Kani's fault. As we all know, Kani is a very good creature. He certainly didn't mean for any of this to happen. And certainly, it was he who caused it, but someone else, some evil creature or creatures that are hiding somewhere in Angola. The problem, I believe, is that Kani was too young to take on so much responsibility so soon. Additionally, he had no experience as a lord yet. And then there are other matters to consider, such as the fact that Kani has lost all of the creatures close to him, and is the only surviving member of his family. We all know how hard each of these deaths hit poor Kani. The tragic murder of his younger brother, Hax Fennix, this past winter left him constantly depressed, and I fear not thinking as straight as he should. The death of his mother only days ago dealt another unexpected blow that hit him even harder. We all saw that he was left even more depressed, and I daresay he was acting rash, as well, letting his feelings control him."

Again the murmuring broke out, and again Methusael motioned for silence. Adah sensed she already knew where this was going as the explanation continued.

"I can provide evidence. The unexpected rebellion with the Angolian mice, for instance. At first, Kani wished to seek a peaceful solution to the situation, an idea we all, at first, supported. However, a season passed, and if anything, the rebellion only grew worse, with no signs of changing. I suggested, by the fur, I even told his lordship that perhaps we should try a different tactic, to try and use some force. Otherwise, we were merely standing back and allowing this threat of the rebellion to continue. Kani refused to listen to me, and continued to use the same tactics, tactics that were not working. Now, the rebellion has risen to a point that blood is now being needlessly shed! Can you see the error in Kani's decision?"

The murmuring continued on again. This time, Methusael let it go on for a moment before motioning for silence.

"And then Kani made a choice we all wondered about. He opted to allow the royal guard and the Angolian militia to join forces, with the idea that the added creatures on patrol could slow and possibly even stop the rebellion. But we _know _that the mice are behind the rebellion! As much as I hate to admit it, we simply cannot put that kind of trust into the militia! They could be working against us for all we know! And perhaps we have proof, for it wasn't long after this decision that the rebels began shedding blood!"

The murmuring was virtually constant now. Methusael no longer bothered to silence it, and simply rose his voice so that he could still be heard.

"And then there was the Bluejay's trial! All the evidence clearly indicated that she murdered her ladyship, Lady Grinta, but Kani, instead of executing her as our laws state, allowed her to live, and to merely be imprisoned and to be 'treated well'! Good treatment for a murderer? I do not even know what Kani was thinking! Clearly, he was so overcome with grief that he was no longer thinking straight!"

The murmuring increased, and it was starting to become clear that the creatures were starting to see Methusael's argument.

"I do not question Kani's wisdom, nor his abilities as lord. I do not find him any less worthy that any other creature, nor any less competent. He is our lord, and we should treat him no less. But he has been through a great deal, and I worry for his mental health. I believe the stress of all of this has taken its toll upon him! He needs treatment and care, before he gets worse, and there is no going back. But that is where the problem lies. Lord Kani has gone missing."

And right then, without needing to hear a word more of Methusael's speech as he continued speaking, because Adah already knew.

It was too late to tell the truth.

Methusael was now in control of Angola.


	15. Bloodless Coup

I feel obligated to say something here, but there really isn't anything new to say, so I'll just say that I...have nothing to say. :P And enjoy the chapter, I'll say that too. :)

15.

"Bloodless Coup"

Methusael quickly exercised that control, too. For once he officially placed himself in control of the land that same evening, he declared war against the mice, and that none of them were to be trusted from this day forth until the rebellion was beaten. At the same time, he ordered the expulsion of all the mice from the castle, explaining why they were absent for the meeting. The royal guard were given new orders, and were to continue the orders Kani had already given them; to search for evidence for the rebels and resist any attacks. But he also expanded their orders to include searching suspicious activity, creatures, and/or locations without needing proper authorization beforehand. Guards were to be stationed, and all visitors to the castle were to be searched. Methusael also reserved the right to search and investigate any creature in Angola if he so felt a need.

He also explained that Kani had attended the meeting with the rebels as planned, but was attacked by snipers. Kani seemed to have survived the attack, but was now in the rebel's paws. So Methusael promised to find and locate Kani, given if he was still alive by that point in time. He also planned to continued the investigations into Hax and Lady Grinta's murders. But Adah knew better; Methusael would _really _see to it that Kani was never found, and the murder investigations could be considered pretty much over by now.

After Methusael's speech, he further exercised his new power by apparently giving a secret order for the guards to arrest any creatures that resisted the change in powers and be held until Methusael could get around to dealing with them. Adah the option of resisting or continuing to play along with Methusael's plans as she had done for the past season and a half.

Adah chose to resist.

She had nothing left to loose.

So it wasn't too long before she found herself being thrown to the floor of the same cell as the two other creatures who resisted. And one of them didn't count.

"So, Mistress Adah, what did you do to find yourself in here?" Bluejay asked contemptuously as she worked to bandage Mordecai's head, which he had managed to injure apparently. Adah suspected Methusael was involved with the injury. "Rubbed Methusael's fur the wrong way, hmm?"

"I suppose you could say that," Adah admitted as she picked herself up from the floor, feeling terribly guilty for what was happening, and as a result, found that she still didn't have the courage to tell the truth. What she said next was a flat-out lie. "I'm not exactly sure _what _to think anymore, to be honest. Everything has happened so fast that I don't know what to make of it. One moment, I was in my chambers, peacefully reading a book, then I was brought to the dining hall to hear Methusael state that he was essentially taking over, and then I was brought here when I was caught grumbling aloud about all of this."

"Ah, but Methusael can't take any chances," Bluejay pointed out with a snort. She was obvious very bitter about all of this. "He's come too far now to have someone resist and get the truth out."

Adah knew that to be true, but she played dumb, if only to learn what she and Mordecai knew about the truth. "What do you mean?"

"It's a coup, Mistress Adah," Mordecai explained, "Methusael has staged a bloodless coup to seize control of the throne from Master Kani."

"Bloodless, hah!" Bluejay scoffed the choice of words, "It was Methusael that murdered her ladyship, and probably poor Master Hax as well. He's been planning this for several seasons now, I'm sure of it."

Adah silently sat down on the floor again. This she also knew to be the true. Bluejay, at the very least, was on the right track to the truth. But how close was she _to _the actual truth? "How can you be sure?"

"I've had some time to think about this. Right now, I'm kicking myself for not seeing it sooner. Practically right under my snout, so it was. Looking back, I can see a whole multitude of things that one could have used to proclaim Methusael the traitor he is," Bluejay suddenly stopped to fight off a fit of tears, "We just didn't have the nerve to do anything about it, I suppose. And just look where it's gotten us."

Adah curled her red tail around her in shame. She could relate to that as well, only more so than Bluejay could even begin to understand. "I suppose Methusael always did strike me as the kind of creature who'd try something like this, but I never thought he would," she said, continuing to hide the truth. Why _was _she still hiding the full truth? She knew she had nothing left to loose. That was what had gotten her down here in the first place. And she still wanted nothing more than to see Methusael stopped. But after a moment of thought even she had to admit that it would be preferable if her involvement in all of this remained unknown. Still, she could consider this her own variation of a confession to the truth. "Not until too late, at least."

"We _all_ didn't see this coming until far too late, Mistress Adah," Mordecai said reassuringly, "I didn't make the connection until a matter of seconds before Methusael outright told me earlier this evening in Master Kani's study. A few seconds after that, he struck me and knocked me out. I awoke sometime later to find myself in this cell with Bluejay treating the bump on my head."

"You already know my story, mistress," Bluejay remarked, "Framed for a crime I didn't commit. I figured out how Methusael did that, too. He merely swapped out the herbs I used for making medicine with the poisonous ones while no one was looking, and having no reason to suspect anything, didn't stop to make sure I was using the right herb when mixing the medicine that would kill Lady Grinta," this wasn't new news for Adah, but the reminder still pained her heart, as she knew her involvement in that situation. It clearly pained Bluejay as well, for she suddenly gave Mordecai's bandage an unnecessarily hard pull, making him yelp in pain. "Sorry Mordecai, but I'm just madder than…well…I'm just mad, is all. Should've seen this coming seasons ago, before all this life was lost, but didn't. I swear, if anybody should be murdered, it's that treacherous scum, Methusael. If given half the chance, I'd willingly drive a knife into his heart."

Adah remembered a time when she felt like she had the gall to do that. "What about Kani? Is he all right?"

"No way to know for how much longer, Mistress Adah, but for the moment, I reckon he is," Mordecai said, "The rumors say he survived the attack and has merely been taken by the mice to some unknown location."

"Yes, I know, Methusael said the rumors were true in his speech."

"Then he's unwittingly proving our theories right," Bluejay commented with a victorious grin, "Another thing I've had a chance to figure out, mistress. Despite what Methusael says, I really don't think the mice are the enemy. I think they're on our side, trying to stop the same things we wish we could. In fact, they may have caught onto this far sooner than we ever did, and that's why they rebelled to begin with. So long as Kani stays with them, he should stay safe."

Adah hadn't thought of that. It gave her a small glimmer of renewed hope. But wondered if it could last under these conditions. "But for how much longer?" she asked, "Methusael swore that he'd have the rebels weaseled out of Angola by the end of the season."

"As I feared as such," Mordecai remarked calmly, "Methusael knows that his planned ambush failed, and that Kani is still alive, and now he's trying to make sure that he doesn't blow his cover. If Master Kani is as wise as I believe him to be, he'll leave Angola at the first opportunity he gets."

"Leave?" the glimmer of hope Adah had was just as quickly gone again, "Kani…"

"You two were close, weren't you?" Bluejay inquired as she finished with Mordecai's bandages.

Adah hesitated for a moment, but then saw no reason to hide it any longer. "Somewhat, yes."

More like a lot.

"I would worry more about us for the moment," Mordecai pointed out wisely, "I worry about what Methusael wants to do with us next."

"He'll probably just leave us here," Bluejay remarked automatically, already convinced this would prove to be true, "Which isn't so bad, except you're stuck sitting here with nothing to do all day long but sit here, and you don't have the chance to get to bathe every now and then. I probably don't smell the best at the moment."

Adah gave her a sympathetic grin, who had noticed the smell, but had up until now thought it was more the cell itself than the grey-furred healer vixen. "I wasn't going to say anything."

"Food and water was good, and came steadily, though," Bluejay admitted as well, "But that was with Kani still in control. I'll bet that will stop now. Lunch never did come, and dinner is already late."

"I believe the intention is to not leave, at the very least, I and Mistress Adah in here for so long, though," Mordecai remarked logically, "Other creatures would notice and inquire as to where we are. Unless Methusael has a good explanation to convince the others to leave us here, he'll let us go eventually."

"But if he does, only to make sure that we don't cause him trouble, and that we play along with his little coup," Bluejay likewise reasoned.

"Maybe we should," Adah remarked aloud, without much prior thought about the matter.

"What?" Bluejay asked, surprised.

"Well, think about it! We can't stop this no matter how you look at it! If we refuse to help him, we just are left to rot in a cell! If we do agree to be loyal to him, we're free to wander the castle and live somewhat normal lives!" Adah desperately longed to live a somewhat normal life again. With no hidden secrets constantly bothering her.

"I would never agree to it!" Bluejay proclaimed immediately, "I would rather _die _that serve that scumball!"

"I suppose, though, we won't really know what we would choose until we are faced with that choice," Mordecai reasoned logically.

And at that moment, two guards arrived and unlocked to cell door and announced that Methusael requested their presence.

Adah gulped. "I guess we're going to find out now."

* * *

They took turns meeting with Methusael in the throne room, starting with Mordecai, followed by Bluejay. Adah suspected that she was left for last on purpose. For what reasons exactly she could only speculate, but Methusael probably had a good reason. After Mordecai met with Methusael for a few moments, he was brought back out andleft with Adah as Bluejay was brought in he confirmed to her that their theory was right, Methusael was looking at letting them go free, if they promised to side with him. Mordecai had refused, and as a result, was going to go back to the dungeons. This all made Adah uneasy, as she wondered what choice she should pick.

Bluejay was eventually brought out of the throne room as well and placed with Mordecai, and Adah went into the room in her place. She found Methusael sitting in the throne of the throne room, accompanied by a smattering of guards that stood against the walls. Methusael grinned when he saw her.

"Adah!" he greeted empathically, "You know, I probably should thank you. You helped a great deal to get me here."

"All of which was involuntary," Adah pointed out bitterly as she was forcibly kneeled down before Methusael.

"True, but you helped nonetheless," Methusael said, "And as a result, I feel compelled to give you a rather generous offer."

"The offer to let me go free if I continue to side with you."

"I see your friends have already told you why _they _were in here, then."

"It wasn't hard to figure out."

"Probably were sitting around trying to figure things out, weren't they?"

"Not like they had anything else to do."

"I suppose you gave them hints, though, didn't you?"

Adah didn't reply. She didn't, really, but she wasn't sure she could convince Methusael of that.

"Adah, I'm giving you a chance to get away from this," Methusael, leaning forward in the throne, "I recommend to take that chance. Things will still continue as they always have."

"I'm not so certain of that, Methusael," Adah said, "You gave me that promise before, and it didn't happen. Besides, you may have gotten the right to sit in that throne, but you don't know for how long."

"I imagine it'll be for quite awhile, Adah," Methusael said, leaning back again and motioned to the chamber, "You see these guards? They're all under my control. Yes, I have members of the royal guard loyal to only me. I have had them for quite awhile now. The royal guard itself outnumbers them, but they suspect nothing. And even if they did, those royal to me would report _everything_," he grinned, "I plan on keeping this throne for quite awhile."

"What about Kani?"

"Soon to be dealt with, as the rebels will shortly be, too. But back to the matter at paw. What's your answer to my little proposal?"

"Well…I…I don't know," Adah admitted, hesitant, "I'm torn, I…I…don't know _what_ I want."

"The answer should be obvious, Adah," Methusael said, rising from his throne and starting to circle her, "A vixen of your caliber doesn't deserve to be locked away in a cell for the rest of her life, surviving on meager supplies of food and water."

"Is that what would happen to me if I don't agree to your terms?" Adah had already figured as much, but she wanted confirmation.

"If you're not with me, you're against me, Adah," Methusael said, putting it bluntly, "I would have to treat you as the enemy, no matter what. I need your vow of allegiance to me first. Look, life would continue more or less as before, especially after this trouble with the rebellion is resolved. Is it really so much to ask for?"

"Why should I give it to you? You've already taken this matter much too far for my liking."

"It couldn't be avoided."

"You harmed Kani."

"I warned you that you shouldn't have gotten so close to him. Now it's time for you to choose which creature you'd rather follow. The creature who controls it all, or the creature who has been dethroned, is on the run, and probably will be dead by tomorrow?"

Adah bit her lip, her ears pulled back in worry, knowing he had a point. She didn't want to loose hope in Kani, even now, but she knew that Methusael had a strong point. At the moment, the odds were not in Kani's favor. Methusael planned to hunt him down and quite likely finish the job. The thought pained Adah to no end, but the odds weren't in her favor either.

Of course, there was also the thought Mordecai had brought up in the cell, that Kani would try to run. Adah still didn't like the idea, even now, but now she found herself hoping Kani had the sense to flee Angola while he had the chance.

"Look, Adah, I could use you," Methusael continued, kneeling down before her and lifting her chin with one claw, "You are well liked by the other creatures in this castle. They are more likely to behave if you are still amongst their numbers. Plus, I, myself, would still have uses for you. Nothing too drastic, but important enough that you'll still feel needed. Like I said, everything will return to normal in the end, just with a new leader, me. And my goals are in the end the same. I intend to work to make Angola a better place. Please, help me to do that."

Adah gazed at him, unsure if he could be trusted. He had deceived her repeatedly, leading to harm, or even death, to more than one creature. She also knew that he was an excellent liar. This all could be nothing but another elaborate deception. But his reasoning was surprisingly sound. Assuming that Methusael could carry out his promises, Adah could see things more or less returning to normal, just with Methusael being the lord of the land instead of Kani. Besides, save for Kani, she had nothing else to loose. Nothing else to gain but a false hope of some kind of freedom. A freedom she probably should be trying harder to get back.

But she was loosing the will to fight Methusael. He had thus far stopped her at every turn, and probably could keep doing so for as long as he needed.

Thereby, Adah saw only one choice she could make.

"Spare Kani," she said suddenly, locked her eyes with Methusael's, "Promise me that you'll spare Kani's life, and I'll do it."

Methusael nodded immediately. "I will, presuming that I can help it given the circumstances. We'll see. But I will work towards that end."

And with that, the meeting was over, and like some kind of glorifying trophy, Methusael brought her back out of the throne room where Mordecai and Bluejay were waiting and showed her off to them as he spoke with their guard.

"You may take those two back to their cell," he told the guard, "They had their chance, and they passed it up. Unlike Mistress Adah, here."

Adah wasn't sure what was worse. Methusael's gloating, or the surprised and hurt looks of betrayal that were on Mordecai and Bluejay's faces as they were escorted back to prison.


	16. Only Theoretical

I'll be honest and confess that I don't particularly like this chapter. But I can't really go without it, so... :( Anyway, read and review. It'd be nice if somebody helped Alisi Thorndyke out with that, seeing that she's been really the only active reviewer (which I appreciate). :)

16.

"Only Theoretical"

The following morning, the results of the bloodless coup were readily apparent to all, and Angola as a whole was still reeling from the events. Life in the land seemed to have been forever altered. Nobody could look at things the same way. The mice particularly took it hard, because they had quite literally been shunned overnight, and had lost the support of Midnight Castle.

Adah, however, hardly cared anymore. She knew that Methusael had won out. At the moment, there seemed like there was nothing she could do to about it. Nothing, that is, other than accept that Methusael was the ruler, and was to be obeyed. Adah knew Methusael had not right to that kind of respect, but here she was, giving it to him anyway.

He had won.

And as a result, Adah felt…

Broken.

She carried out deeds that morning automatically, and without really thinking about them. She remembered being in the dining hall to have breakfast, but she didn't remember what she had for breakfast, if she got any breakfast at all. She wandered the corridors aimlessly, arriving at destinations at random without really knowing why, only to resume the wandering. Creatures noticed, but no one stopped her, aided her, or anything. They simply left her to her own devices. Most were somewhat stunned by recent events themselves to think much of it anyway.

Later in the day, Adah played the part of the messenger as she routinely did everyday, and went out to the camp of the mercenaries to pay them a visit, to see if they had any messages to relay back to Methusael. Today they did, written on a small scrap of parchment by the leader, Grim, who could write surprisingly well. Adah, as she usually did, quietly relayed it up to Methusael, who seemed intrigued to get the message, but Adah didn't stick around to find out what was on it. It didn't bother her at all.

At least, not yet.

Because later that afternoon, Methusael called her to what was now his study instead of Kani's, thereby no more trying to work in his more cramped study. Adah obediently obeyed, still in her depressed state as before. Methusael was enjoying the more spacious study already, and was currently standing with his back turned to the door, looking out the room's magnificent window. He did not turn to face her, but Adah knew he knew she was there.

"Yes, milord?" she greeted upon her arrival in the study, "What is it you wanted?"

Methusael grinned for a brief moment at being properly called by his self-imposed title, obviously glad that Adah had remembered while many still hadn't yet adjusted. But then he was back to business and held up a small slip of parchment. Adah recognized it as the message the mercenaries had sent earlier.

Methusael verbally confirmed this as he spoke, addressing the message, then remarked, "I've been giving it a lot of thought, I think that I need to take action upon it."

Adah frowned, knowing that 'action' was not a good word to hear from Methusael. "I disagree."

"I know you do. Which is why I'm telling you first."

Adah thought this was sadistically humorous. Like he had ever cared what she thought about these matters before now. "Why, so you can rub it in? Cause me more grief that I've already got?"

Methusael sighed, and gave her an injured look. "So bitter, Adah…"

"I've done several things that I'm not proud of recently, Methusael," Adah reminded him with a glare, thinking this was more than enough cause to be bitter, "Because of you."

"I appreciate it, nonetheless." Of course Methusael had the gall to say that.

"That's not my point."

"Nor is it mine. Adah, if my sources are to be believed, Kani is getting away."

Adah saw where this was going already, and as usual, she didn't like it. She felt a small flare of fire flame up inside her through the sea of apathy she had been plagued with all day. "Then let him. Isn't that what you wanted? For him to go away?"

"If I let him go, he could just make things worse than they already are." Methusael was trying to bend words to justify what he wanted done again.

But Adah knew that trick too well, and opted not to stand for it yet again. "Methusael, you promised me you wouldn't hurt him. That was our deal."

"The deal was that I wouldn't hurt him if I could _help _it," Methsuael turned to face her finally, "Already, my plans have hit far too many hitches for my liking. From the beginning, I never planned to hurt Kani, you should know that. I merely wanted to…force him…out of the way. But plans changed. The rebellion occurred unexpectedly. Threw a wild card into the mix. Kani reacted accordingly, and he wasn't where I needed him to be when I took over. In fact, it forced me to act sooner that I would've liked. It's bad enough that I have to deal with the rebellion. I don't need whatever Kani will bring down upon me on top of that."

It hadn't even been a fully day, and already he was trying to weasel his way out of their agreement.

"That wasn't our deal," Adah pressed, not willing to back down. Not on this. Kani was the last shred of hope she had left, and she wasn't going to let that be taken from her, "Kani is out of the way, you got what you wanted. Now please, just leave him alone!"

"I can't do that!" Methsuael snapped, moving towards her, "Not until I'm _sure _he won't come back to haunt me!" he spun away and went back to the desk, "He may have left to gather help to retake Angola from my control, and I can't permit that!"

Adah glanced up and looked at Methusael's back, that thought having never occurred to her before now. "You don't know that!" she argued.

Though she certainly hoped it was true.

"_Exactly _why I need to take action, now, before it's much too late," Methusael sat himself into the desk's chair, "I'm giving the order to take Kani down."

"If Kani dies, then you loose me too."

Methusael glanced up at her at this threat. "I wish it didn't have to come to that."

"But it will. And you know it's no empty threat, either. You said it yourself, you need me, for whatever accursed plans you have left! So long as it stays to that, you have me under _your _control! But if you go after Kani, you'll loose that control."

"I wouldn't let you get away with it."

"I don't expect you to. I wouldn't underestimate the damage I could do before that, however."

Adah had to resist the urge to grin as Methusael narrowed his eyes at her, but said nothing for a moment. She may have _actually _found a way to place Methusael under her thumb for a change. Because they both knew that Methusael may have succeeded in gaining control of the land, but that would only last so long as everyone could cooperate. And Adah was now realizing for the first time that all hinged on whether or not she played along with Methusael's plans.

That was why he had been so adamant that she do that.

Adah was the wild card.

If she talked, she could cause problems for Methusael.

And now she was finally realizing this.

And now Methusael was realizing that he was running out of means to keep her in line.

But he wasn't just about to give in and let her have her way straight away, though. Just like Adah herself had been to him, leverage over Methusael had to be earned. So, unsurprisingly for Adah, Methusael tried again to get her to see things his way.

"Kani left the land for a reason," he pointed out, "Neither one of us could know with one hundred percent certainty what that reason is. _I _think he's gone to seek help, to rally together an army to use to take back Angola and settle the score we have between us."

Adah had her response ready.

"And I say you're wrong. You _know _how close we were. I know you recommended against it, but it happened anyway. But because of it, I know Kani better than you certainly do. I can have a pretty good idea what that reason might be."

She was, of course, lying to try to get what she wanted. But Methusael had done the same to her. Now it was time he got a taste of his own bitter medicine. It showed, too. One could easily see that Methusael was being manipulated, but he also knew there was too much at risk and too many unknowns to dare try and call Adah at her bluff just yet.

"Oh?" he asked instead, clearly trying to prod Adah for evidence that she was trying to deceive him, "And what do _you _think it is?"

Adah again had her answer ready. She hadn't even anticipated this argument and had given no prior thought to these comebacks, but they were coming to her instantly, and were available upon demand. Adah took it as a good omen as she said her reply.

"That Kani sees that he's been beaten. We all knew how much confidence he had lost in himself being the lord of Angola. All of this will only subtract from it more. He won't have anything left to use against you. I'm honestly surprised he's even still sane, the grief for him must be terrible," At this point Adah had to pause and fight back a sudden bought of sadness, as there was a great deal of truth to that last statement. It was a miracle Kani was in anyway still sane. Same for Adah herself, though she did wonder sometimes. "My point is that Kani won't have any will left to fight you. The only thing left for him to do other than turn himself in is to get far, far, away while he still has the chance and start life anew, and seek peace."

Methusael still didn't seem convinced, and he was starting to bend, but wasn't going to give in just yet. So Adah added in a clincher that she was certain not even Methusael had thought of yet.

"According to your own sources, Kani left heading west. Towards Mossflower Country. A land we know to be a peaceful land. This not only _supports _my theory, but do you really think Kani would head there to rally an army? An army out of peaceful woodlanders who probably wouldn't know how to hold a sword?"

Which actually was a distinct possibility that was exactly what would be found there. But it was a gamble Adah was just going to have to take, as all of her hope was being placed on Kani now. He _had _to survive. And he had to come back, better prepared, to stop Methusael, once and for all. This clincher also did indeed make Methusael give pause and consider it.

"But, this is all only theoretical," he stated, as if it made a difference at this point.

Because it didn't.

"Maybe so, but the argument still carries," Adah remarked with one final glare at Methusael.

Methusael was silent for a very long moment. Adah was starting to think that he still wasn't going to give in, even now, which would leave Adah with no where else to go, as she didn't think she could continue the argument further.

But Methusael surprised her.

"Fine," he said finally, "Have our messenger spread the word. But the moment I discover that things are going otherwise to your claims, Adah, I _will _take action. Regardless of what you do in response."

Adah couldn't help but grin, though. She had won this round.

"Understood, Therefore, seeing that there's no _real _reason to continue discussing this any further, I bid you good day, your lordship."

And with that, she happily left to go deliver the said message.

* * *

She also enjoyed the reactions of the vermin mercenaries when she, as their secret messenger, were given the message to read. They were clearly not expecting Methusael to order them to let Kani go, and instead ask that they continue searching for possible members of the Angolian rebellion. But they knew better to argue the orders (except for Sais, but he was easily overruled by the others) and anyway, Adah purposely didn't stick around to get any kind of replies to relay.

The day then progressed a whole lot better than it had begun. Heartened immensely by her little victory today, Adah was surprisingly cheerful for the rest of the day, and resisted the urge to dance, cheer, and celebrate. Granted, that victory was just one small step, and a long way to go until Methusael was beaten. There was still a very good chance that nothing could come of it. But for Adah, who had little to celebrate lately, it was something to cherish.

There was also the fact that Kani was escaping Angola safely, as well.

And hopefully, if Adah knew the fox as well as she thought she did, he'd return with help to stop Methusael.

The excitement eventually wore her out, though, and she opted to retire to bed earlier than normal. She felt very tired, and was quickly in a deep sleep.

She had easily slept for some hours, to the point that it had gotten well into the night, long after the hour where any creature other than members of the royal guard had gone to bed for the night and the castle was silent, when she dimly became aware of something shaking her sleeping form.

Bleary eyed, and not fully awake, she rolled over in bed and squinted in the darkness at the creature that stood beside her bed. When she realized with a start who it was, her sleep-deprived mind acted first and thought later, and she lashed out with her pillow at the figure, waking him in the face and bowling him over. Adah sat up and raised her pillow ready for another blow.

"What the devil are you doing in my bedchambers at this hour, Methsuael?" she snapped.

Methusael shook off the blow from the pillow, which, it being a pillow, was easily done. "Nothing nefarious, I assure you, if that's what you're worried about," he commented, "Actually, I would have rather not had to have woken you like this if the circumstances permitted it, but I remembered something that needed to be done that should've been done this morning."

Adah rubbed at her tired eyes with her paws, the action not really helping. "Like what?" she growled. She didn't like her sleep getting interrupted like this.

"There was another aspect to the message I had you deliver to the mercenaries earlier that I had stupidly left out and forgotten until now," Methusael explained, sounding annoyed at the predicament himself. He held out a sealed message to Adah. "I know it's late, but I need you to deliver this, now, before tomorrow morning, so it can be carried out as quickly as possible."

"Now?" Adah repeated, growing further annoyed, "You want me to deliver a message _now_? At _this _hour?"

"I know the timing is poor, and terribly inconvenient, but like I said, I had stupidly forgotten it before now, and it really can't wait until morning," he yawned suddenly, "I'll have you know I'm just as tired as you are, and don't care for this anymore than you do. But it needs to be done."

Adah yawned as well. "Fine," she grumbled, grabbing the message from Methusael and stretching, trying to wake herself up enough for this, "Anything else you have to tell me, _your lordship_?" she probably shouldn't be so uppity with Methusael like this right now, but she was too tired to care at the moment.

"Just the usual stipulation that I don't want you reading the message's contents, and I request that you deliver this _directly _to the mercenary named Aurora, and not wake any of the others. That's the rat."

"I know which one is Aurora, Methusael."

"Once you have delivered the message, you're more than welcome to go to bed. That's where I'm heading myself, actually."

He turned to leave. Adah shot him a glare.

"So remind me again why don't you deliver this message yourself?" she inquired loudly, annoyed at the fact that Methusael got the chance to sleep when she didn't.

Methusael avoided the question. "Good night, Adah!" he called back instead, making Adah snort in frustration.

But, she still had the message, and it still needed to be delivered. And she was up anyway. Reluctantly, she got up, dressed just enough to head outside, pulled on a cloak to cover herself and hide her features, although it was probably dark enough now that it wasn't really that necessary, and discreetly exited the castle into the cold night and headed off into the woods to find the vermin encampment.

She almost couldn't find it. It was too dark to see well, and Adah was too tired to think that straight. But after wandering around almost blindly once she had discovered she hadn't come across the camp yet when she should've by now, she finally found it, almost by accident, and strolled into it, grateful that the little assignment was nearing it's end. The vermin were all asleep, like Adah wished she could be, and were lying there around their dead campfire, fast asleep. Adah strolled into the middle of the bunch, and looked them over in the dark. Aurora was fairly easy to find despite it being so dark, because she was the more petite of the bunch.

Adah strolled over to the sleeping rat, and with no reluctance, pity, or anything, started jabbing her footpaw into the mercenary's side, trying to get her to wake up as quickly as possible, preferably before Adah dozed off on her footpaws, which she felt was likely to happen very soon, she was so tired. Fortunately, it didn't take much to get Aurora to wake up, and she peered up at Adah. Adah handed her the message wordlessly, and with that turned and marched off, not waiting to see the rat open and read the message, or hear any complaints about how late it was. Because she _knew _how late it was.

That done, she headed straight back to Midnight Castle and her bedchambers, shed off the clothing she had put on to head out, and climbed right back into bed, and was asleep before she was even fully back under the covers again.

It wasn't until morning that the peculiarity, and oddness, of the whole activities of last night struck her as very suspicious…


	17. Upon Thin Ice

Like last chapter, I'm not too thrilled with this chapter, but can't really go without either, as it has some vital info for the story. Sort of. Well, vital in the sense that you see Adah test her boundaries and a small passage in time is covered. So we're still in a kind of lull in the story. But things will start picking up next chapter, and accelerate in the chapter after that, so you have that much to look forward to. :)

17.

"Upon Thin Ice"

"You _really _haven't found any trace of the rebels?"

Methusael looked at Juniper, the creature who took over leading the royal guard after Methusael proclaimed himself lord, both in frustration, and amazement. Adah, who as also in the room, stretched out on a bench that sat on one side of the room, watching and listening, took amusement in Methusael's frustration.

"None, milord," Juniper replied patiently, "We only seem to be turning up empty leads. And none of the mice seem to have any solid information about who might be a rebel, or might not be. At least, if they do, they haven't been telling us the truth."

"Well, of course they aren't!" Methusael snapped, "They're probably looking out for each other, trying to protect each other from what they're perceiving as danger."

"Which is almost ironic, for only a couple of days ago, they were about ready to turn on each other, and rattle out whomever they thought to be a rebel," Adah commented, idly examining her claws like she didn't care about this matter, and she really didn't. She was really waiting for her turn to speak with Methusael, "But now, they've rallied together."

"For all we know, they all may be in on this rebellion now," Juniper added, in complete agreement with Adah.

Adah wasn't really surprised. The mice were always a very united bunch, always looking out for each other. Very neighborly and friendly under better circumstances. That, and they had been receiving the brunt of the consequences of Methusael's takeover, so they probably were more willing to side with the rebels now than they had when Kani was in control. Kani was more willing to seek a peaceful compromise. Methusael just wanted to end the matter, even if it meant using force.

A thought came to Adah during this, and she wondered if the mice were becoming suspicious of the going-ons in the castle, wondering if Methusael's intent was really as good as he claimed. If so, then that could be a good thing. Methusael may have all of the foxes united to him save for the rare couple that knew the full story (like Adah), but even with that, he'd be outnumbered; there were much more mice than foxes in Angola.

A little bit of food for thought, it seemed.

Methusael had been silent to consider these possibilities himself, turning to look out the study's window at the village outside. "Possibly," he finally confessed aloud, "But if they are, they're asking for civil war."

"A war they could win with their numbers," Adah pointed out.

Methusael ignored the comment, obviously not willing to consider that possibility. "I don't want to start that kind of conflict, however. If they force me to, I will, but only when I have no other choice," he turned to Juniper, "For now, keep doing what you've been doing. Report to me if you have anything new to tell me."

Juniper nodded, and departed. Adah lazily watched him go, then turned back to look snidely at Methusael. Methusael noticed, and narrowed his eyes as he lowered himself with a sigh into his desk chair.

"Go ahead and say it," he told her, "Go on."

"Who said I was going to say anything?"

"You were thinking it, I can tell."

"All I was thinking was that things weren't going as you had planned."

"There you go, you said it."

"Not so luxurious being lord after all, hmm?" Adah rose and approached his desk, glaring at him. She wanted to be sure that he knew this much, that he had really brought these clearly unanticipated problems down upon himself. "Of course, the fact that you forced your way into the position might have something to do with it."

There was more she could've said about the matter, but Methusael cut her short, "All right, I get the idea. I can handle it though. If those mice don't submit to my rule and the royal guard isn't turning up more on the rebellion here soon, I _will _begin using force to find them."

"You mean more force than you're using already?" Adah pretended to act shocked, then using a different tone, added, "Ever stop to think that maybe you're going about this the wrong way, and that _forcing _the mice to submit won't work?"

"Now you're trying to criticize me."

"I'm trying to give you advice. That was part of our agreement, why I've even still here. You wanted my input."

"Well, I don't _want _your input on this matter."

Adah shifted positions at this comment, and folded her arms, deciding to bring up the matter she was _really _here to discuss. "Nor any other matter, it seems," she remarked, "Otherwise, you wouldn't have sent a message that sent one of your mercenaries away on a secret mission."

Methusael paused, then slowly glanced up from the parchments he had started working on to look at her. Now he was giving her the glare, and looked to be both concerned, but also quite angry. "You weren't supposed to read that message."

"I didn't," Adah pulled out a message she had gotten from the mercenaries earlier that day and had purposely hung onto it for this conversation and placed it front of Methusael, "And neither did your other two mercenaries, but they're still wondering where their friend went."

Scowling, Methusael took the message and read it while Adah patiently watched. His brow furrowed more in fury as he read the message. The message itself wasn't too big a deal, but what Methusael was realizing was the fact that Adah had obviously read it meant she was on to his trickery again. Methusael glanced up at her, probably about to make a comment, but Adah cut him short, wanting to get her one demand out first before he could avoid it.

"Where did you send Aurora?"

Because this was what the matter was about. Aurora the rat had vanished during the middle of the night, sometime between the time Adah had delivered the message to her and this morning when the other two mercenaries awoke. Adah was convinced that something on that late night message that Methusael hadn't wanted her to read had gotten her to leave during the night, and she had a good idea what.

Methusael obviously could guess this, and was silent for a moment as he considered his carefully thought-out answer. "A delicate matter came up outside of Angola that can threaten my plans," he explained delicately, "She was the best choice to deal with the matter, so I sent her to take care of it. Simple as that."

Adah didn't buy it, and instantly recognized it to be the cover story she knew it was. "You sent her to seek out and kill Kani, didn't you?"

"No. Of course not."

Adah narrowed her eyes at him, knowing that was a flat-out lie.

"I sent her to find Kani, yes," Methusael finally confessed with a sigh, "But only to watch him and monitor his movements. I'm just guaranteeing that Kani really _will _do what you claim he will and stay away. Surely you must see the logic in that?"

Adah still didn't think he was telling her the whole truth, and didn't back down.

"I gave the order for her to kill him _only _if she found evidence that he intended to rally an army and return to try and forcibly take back Angola, _not _before," Methusael pressed, confessing more of the order than before, "That is within the terms of our agreement, and therefore, it _will _be satisfactory."

He said nothing else, having made it clear he didn't wish to discuss the matter further. Adah still didn't think he was telling the whole truth, though. Still, she felt she had pried enough truth out of him for the moment, and decided to back off before Methusael got anymore angry and did something reckless.

But before she did, she pressed her face into Methusael's. "You're treading upon thin ice, Methusael," she warned, "You had better hope, for your sake, that you don't fall through."

And feeling that she had made her point, she turned and left. She knew Methusael was lying, and now was just making loose excuses. She knew that he had truly sent Aurora on a mission to slay Kani, and nothing more. Methusael didn't care what Kani was doing. He just wanted the fox dead before he got much farther from Angola. He didn't want to leave any loose ends.

There was little Adah could do about it to stop it, though, except hope that Kani could keep himself safe. Kani was already too far out of Angola, as well as Aurora. She couldn't give chance, and she couldn't stop either. She couldn't even really send a message to Kani to warn him to look out, because it would never get there in time, and anyway, no one really knew where he had gone, and would be hard to track, even for one of Methusael's vermin mercenaries.

One thing was clear, though. The time had come to make plans about what to do next. Adah had already made her threats to Methusael, threatening to cause trouble the moment he broke their deal. Now Adah needed to decide what she would do to cause trouble in the event it ever came to that.

* * *

A couple of days passed in Angola. Nothing of real significance took place during that time, at least nothing Adah ever found out about. She wouldn't have been surprised if Methusael was starting to keep her out of the loop with things. She had made it clear that their little deal about keeping Kani alive was all that was keeping her in line now. The moment Methusael broke it, and Adah planned to rebel. And it seemed pretty clear to her that he had indeed done that.

The only reason she hadn't actually done anything yet about it was the fact that Kani's fate was still unclear, that the evidence about what had happened to him, or would happen to him, was unclear for the time being, as well as Methusael's continued assurances that what she thought he had done was not actually the case.

Which she wasn't believing for a second.

What bugged her about all of this was the fact that Methusael didn't seem to be doing anything about her suspicions. He was leaving her alone, surprisingly, and was doing nothing to hold her back, to watch, to make sure that she was never in a position to suddenly rebel. And this irked her to no end. She knew Methusael. He wasn't one to leave loose ends that could endanger him. That was exactly why he had sent Aurora after Kani in the first place. To tie up loose ends.

So why was he leaving _this_ loose end, meaning herself, completely alone except some random manipulation and the odd threat of his own? And speaking of which, ever since Methusael had started getting threatened back by her, he had backed off on both. He was suddenly being more tolerant of Adah's protests. It was like he was trying to humor her. Like he really didn't want to loose her support, forced or otherwise.

Around then, Adah made a very disturbing thought that could account for these peculiarities. She didn't like it…

But it would explain a thing or two.

The only question then, was she right?

She got her chance to bring the matter up when she happened to be passing a tower window and managed to catch a glimpse of something flying up over the woods out past the village. Doubling back to the window, Adah watched the object, with something red flapping behind it, drop back amongst the trees. She realized it was an arrow, with a red taper tied to it, and knew what that meant.

The remaining two mercenaries were trying to get their attention. They had a message they wanted relayed to Methusael, and didn't want to wait until the next routine time for Adah, as their messenger, turned up to check to see if they had any messages to relay. So they were using the arrow to get their attention that they had a priority message through, using what Adah had been told by Methusael was an emergency method of relaying a message.

Adah wondered what kind of message they could have to deliver that couldn't wait until later. She knew that the two mercenaries, Grim and Sais, had been given orders to continue searching for possible members of the Angolian rebellion in Aurora's absence. They had done so, but had reportedly not come up with anything relevant yet. Maybe they had found something now. Whatever the case, Adah decided to check in with Methusael first before she went out to pick up the message, and headed for the study. Finding the door closed, she knocked.

"Come in."

Adah entered finding Methusael standing and looking out the study window. She approached the desk before speaking. "Your mercenaries are seeking your attention, milord," she stated officially, but also with what she hoped was a hint of mockery, "Shall I send the messenger?"

"Yes, please, I hope they have something useful to report for a change," Methusael agreed with a nod.

Adah returned the nod, then addressed another subject while she was here, giving Methusael a glare. "Has Aurora completed her mission yet?"

Methusael turned and returned the glare. "You just can't let a subject drop, can you?"

"Answer the question."

"I won't know until Aurora comes back to report in. And I don't know how long that will take her."

"Takes that long to kill one lone fox, does it?"

Methusael's glare grew narrower still. "I've told you before. Aurora is just checking to make sure Kani does _not _go and rally himself an army to take back what I've taken from him. _Only _if he is, is she to kill him."

"You know I don't buy that."

"If so, then why haven't you made good on your threat?"

"There's more happening here than me and you, Methusael," a fact which was true. If Adah was going to rebel, she wanted to try and keep it to just her and Methusael, unless she could do something that would significantly help Angola on a whole, and at the moment, she felt she couldn't confirm that would happen. "Clearly, you haven't believed me."

Methusael made a noise that sounded like a snort. "Your argument was rather weak. Whatever the case, why must you always be at my throat?"

"Because if I back off in the _slightest,_ you'll stab me in the back."

Methusael looked genuinely hurt at this accusation. Adah was inwardly happy to see that. He had taken her bait.

"I will not," Methusael assured her almost a little too quickly, "As I've said before, Adah, you're very valuable to me, and you're just as much in this as I am."

"You gave me little choice. And besides, how do I know you won't do me in out of spite?"

Methusael didn't reply, but by this point, he didn't have to. He hid it well, but the fox seemed dismayed to hear this, but knew Adah had every reason to believe it. He was acting crestfallen. It was enough to confirm to Adah that her hunch was right.

Methusael didn't want her _just _to be an unwilling assistant.

So Adah made a rather below-the-belt move in their argument, hoping to nip this matter in the bud before it got any further.

"You know, Methusael, I used to admire you, before this all began."

And she had, as a leader and advisor and nothing more, though.

"Maybe even attracted to you somewhat, and don't pretend that doesn't mean anything to you, because I know you're attracted to me."

And this was true as well. That was the only explanation Adah could think of for Methusael's sudden favoring of her. He was _attracted _to her. And the very thought disgusted her, which was really what she _wanted _to say to him, that and the fact that her heart had always been with Kani, but she hoped what she was saying now would sting him that much more.

"But that all has since changed. You may seem…mm…okay at a first glance, Methusael, for a military creature. But then I have to take into consideration everything that you've done. If you really wanted me, Methusael, you shouldn't have pulled me into this. Or, better still, you shouldn't have done this at all. Because all that it has done for you is give you enemies."

Methusael looked at her for a moment, then looked away. He had nothing to say. Her point made, Adah turned and left.

"I'll send the messenger," she said on her way out.


	18. Publicly Executed

Okay, some excitement begins filtering in here and is prelude to even more action next chapter as Adah finally makes a stand. Like several other chapters, this chapter makes the presumption that you have already read "Warrior of Redwall" so if you have not, I'm not taking the blame for any confusions that might pop up. :P

18.

"Publicly Executed"

The message proved to be fairly simple. Grim and Sais had spied a couple of mice wandering around in the village that seemed suspicious. Grim inquired if they should hunt them down and dispose of them, but Methusael, unsure what to make of this actually rather sketchy evidence, opted to held off. Adah didn't say anything about it, but she supported this choice, not just because it spared lives, but also because the alleged evidence could mean just about anything. In the end, Grim and Sais ended up loosing track of the mice anyway, and that seemed to end the subject there.

But later the same day, Adah heard an actually humorous rumor that two members of the royal guard had been knocked out cold by what were presumed to be mice, and had their uniforms stolen from off their backs. She didn't think much of it at the time, other than to wonder why anybody would want to steal royal guard uniforms, particularly when someone was already wearing them.

But as she would later learn, they actually were oddly interconnected. And Methusael was on their trail. Because later that night, she was urgently called to the study and was quickly requested to relay new instructions to the mercenaries that they were to watch Midnight Castle closely for the night, watching all the exits, _including _any secret ones, and were to keep track of all who left the castle, and where they exited from. Adah couldn't see why Methusael wanted to know this, and why it was so important, but at Methusael's insistence, she relayed the instructions to the mercenaries, who seemed just as puzzled, but didn't argue.

Upon returning to the castle, Adah found things further in a fury. The royal guard had been given new orders: they were all to be stationed in the village, with half to continue patrolling as usual, with the rest to surround the village entirely, with no one authorized to leave without Methusael's _written _permission. This in addition to the new instructions told Adah that Methusael was clearly suspecting that something was happening, or about to happen.

She hunted him down to ask him, finally finding him as he hurried down a corridor, talking rapidly to Juniper.

"Methusael, what's going on?" she asked as they crossed paths.

"I'm stopping a jailbreak, how about you?" Methusael asked a little bitterly, obviously still stinging a little from their earlier conversation.

"Jailbreak?" Adah repeated, but Methusael didn't stick around to explain, and hurried on, leaving Adah behind.

She stopped and thought about this. She only knew of two prisoners in the dungeons at the moment, and that was Mordecai and Bluejay. And how could they escape on their own? Unless they had help. Then Adah remembered the stolen uniforms. Two, exactly, had been stolen. And they were meant to be worn by foxes, and Mordecai and Bluejay were foxes. And reportedly, the rebels had stolen the uniforms…

Obviously, Methusael expected the rebels to be helping Mordecai and Bluejay escape imprisonment.

Something which Adah was in support of, although she wasn't sure what good that would do them.

But then…if so, then why was Methusael working to prevent it _this _way? Stationing the entirety of the royal guard around the village didn't seem like a good way to stop a jailbreak, unless he was working to prevent it from even starting…

…or it had taken place already. And Methusael was trying to catch the fleeing culprits.

There was an easy way to find out. As all of the royal guard was now out in the village save Juniper and two that were always perpetually stationed at the castle's front gates, there was no one guarding the entrance to the dungeons. As a result, Adah was easily able to slip inside and do a little poking around. She didn't really know what to look for, nor could she remember what cell Bluejay and Mordecai were being held in, if it was even the same cell as the one they were held in when Adah briefly spent some time with them on the eve of Methusael's coup d'état. But she knew the cell when she saw it.

Of course, the large hole in the cell's back wall leading into a separate tunnel helped.

* * *

By the time Adah had gotten back up into the main portion of the castle, however, Methusael's plan had apparently worked. Because not long after Adah had left the dungeons, a party of members from the royal guard marched past heading _for_ the dungeons, escorting two apparent prisoners. One of them Adah recognized as Captain Moroni, a mouse, and leader of the Angolian militia. He did not seem happy to be here. The other creature, a red fox, Adah didn't recognize right away, but the fox recognized her.

"Adah!" the fox exclaimed in surprise.

"Bluejay?" Adah repeated, recognizing the voice, realizing that it was the healer vixen, except her usually grey-colored fur had been colored red.

No further speaking was done, however, because the guards quickly moved their prisoners on down the corridor and away from Adah, and Adah was slightly too stunned to think to follow until too late. Wondering what was going on, though, Adah sought out someone to speak with. Eventually, she found Juniper.

"Juniper, what happened?" she asked.

"Lord Methusael caught Bluejay escaping and the leader of the rebels helping her," Juniper responded simply.

"You mean Captain Moroni was the leader of the _rebels_?" Adah repeated, surprised.

"So I'm told," Juniper said, then coldly added, "His lordship ordered that they both be publicly executed tomorrow morning."

* * *

"You should really be asleep, you know."

Methusael twisted around in his seat in surprise, facing away from the window through which he had been watching the starts of a sunrise, and looked at Adah standing in the doorway of the study in annoyance. He turned his chair around so to face her. "And you aren't?"

It was now early morning of the day after the events of last night, and wasn't even quite dawn yet. Most were still asleep at this hour, But Adah hadn't slept much due to the knowledge that she knew that two creatures would be _publicly _slain in the morning, creatures she considered to be either innocent or no where near guilty enough to lose their lives. Obviously, she hadn't been the only one who couldn't sleep.

"I heard you giving orders, depriving other creatures in this castle of their sleep as well," Adah commented bitterly, returning the frown Methusael was giving her.

"I couldn't sleep, so I decided to get a head start on today's matters," Methusael replied, calm, "To get started, I gave Juniper orders to bring up a guest so…so we can talk."

"Heaven forbid who that might be," Adah already had guessed who might be. There were really only two creatures in this castle who Methusael might want to talk to at the moment, Bluejay and Captain Moroni. Of the two, Captain Moroni probably had the most information to tell, as he was apparently the leader of the rebellion. Although, Adah wondered if he'd even be willing to talk. "But I would've thought that given last night's events, you would've scaled back a bit this morning, so to not overdo yourself."

"Logical, but I have a busy morning planned as well," Methusael commented with a mild grin, "I have an execution to plan, you know."

"Yes, I do. You really intend to kill them?"

"Why not? They have it coming to them."

"Maybe in your eyes, you do."

"In my eyes, I see this as the means of restoring peace to the land."

"In your eyes, yes, but from my eyes, Methusael, you're spilling innocent blood for no reason other than personal profit."

"Well, I'm not looking at it from _your _eyes, obviously. And I don't really care what you think about the matter, although I suppose I was going to get an earful about it regardless," Methusael made an exasperated sigh, "Adah, quit trying to delay their deaths unnecessarily. It's only prolonging the inevitable. They must die."

"Why?"

"It's simple enough. Those rebellious mice out there need to see who's in charge here; that their mutinous actions are not going to be tolerated. A public execution will drive that point home quite nicely. Can't you see that?"

"What I see is a power hungry fox who's willing to kill, and _has _killed, to get what he wants, and is quite possibly blind. You're underestimating your foes, Methusael, and not for the first time. Can't you see _that_? They _know _what you've done! The effects you are clearly hoping for aren't going to happen. You're hoping in vain, for something won't occur!"

Methusael frowned unbelievingly at this comment, but Adah knew she was right. She had given this a lot of thought. If the rebel mice didn't know about Methusael's conspiracy before, they do now, as that was probably the first thing Mordecai and Bluejay told them when they freed them. And since only Bluejay had been re-caught, this meant that Mordecai had escaped, with the other rebels, so he was probably telling all of them all about what Methusael had been up to. And because they knew, they'd probably tell as many creatures as they could. Which meant that this execution would do nothing but aggravate them, and then Angola really _would _be at a state of war.

Methusael simply shrugged off the matter, however. "Well, we'll just have to see after this morning, hmm?" he said. Around then, a knock came at the study door. "Ah, and just in time," he motioned for Adah to stand to one side, "Might as well stick around and watch, Adah. You might learn a few things yourself from this. Come in!"

The study door opened, and Juniper and another member of the royal guard entered, escorting Captain Moroni between them, forepaws tied behind his back, but his footpaws were free, so he could walk. He looked exactly the same as he had the night previous, only now he was a bit dirtied and tattered, no doubt from his overnight stay in what Adah understood to be the most remote and undesirable cell Midnight Castle's dungeons had to offer. He also looked very tired, probably hadn't slept much that night, but was also very mad, and was directing most of his current and venomous glare at Methusael, who of course was deserving it.

But like always, Methusael didn't let it bother him. He waved Juniper out of the room so the conversation would be private, but the other fox guard remained. Apparently, Methusael had no qualms about him overhearing anything he shouldn't, so Adah presumed he was one of the few that was fully loyal to Methusael, and made note of the creature's identity. Once Juniper had departed, Methusael addressed Moroni surprisingly cheerfully.

"Well, good morning, Captain Moroni. Have a good night?"

"Not really, no," Moroni replied through gritted teeth, "I see that you have had a good night, Methusael," he side-glanced at Adah who stood to one side, watching. The vixen suddenly felt very guilty under the glance. "And Mistress Adah, I didn't expect to be graced with your presence for this meeting."

"Nor did I expect to do any presence-gracing," Adah replied a little sullenly, who really hadn't expected to still be present for this meeting. She had mixed feelings about the fact that she was here anyway. "As if I have any grace left."

"Shouldn't have sided with the traitor," Moroni commented, glancing back at Methsuael. He was clearly feeling bold in addition to mad.

It clearly irked Methsuael. "Well, look who's calling who," he said as he rose from his seat, straightening his tunic, "As I recall, captain, you're the one charged with treason."

"By your order only. Orders you shouldn't be giving. And maybe you _would _call what I've done treason, but it was for a good cause. To overthrow _you_."

Adah blinked, and inwardly reflected on that comment. So the mice did know about Methusael's treachery before now.

"Ah, but this little rebellion that I suspect you've been leading from the beginning started long before I entered the picture, back when Kani still ruled," Methusael countered cheerfully, "Explain why you were rebelling _then_."

"Oh, it's a very long and complicated story that I'd rather not get into right now, and I don't really know all of the particulars myself, to be honest," Moroni replied.

Methusael just snorted at the comment. Moroni continued.

"And besides, you're wrong. The rebellion _did _start after you had entered the picture, at least when the evidence started to reveal itself, at least. It started after you murdered Lord Hax."

Adah looked up in surprise, not having expected the captain to know _that _much about the rebellion. Did he know who exactly carried out the murder?

Methusael, on the other paw, slapped his fist on the desk in frustration, the cheery attitude of before vanishing. "You can't prove that I did that."

"Oh, I so could, and you know it, too."

Adah relaxed a little. Moroni thought Methusael was directly responsible for Hax's murder. For the moment, she decided, she was going to let Moroni keep thinking that. Telling him otherwise wouldn't get her much at the moment. And that was important, because she was slowly getting an idea.

"But you don't have the _evidence_," Methusael countered, "Whereas, _I _have evidence to convict you of treason, of disturbing the peace, of plotting against the throne, of arranging and aiding in the escape of convicted criminals, and of attacking and murdering members of the royal guard and your own kind. I could even blame Hax's death on you, if I wanted to."

"But you won't," Moroni was confident of this much, "There's too much doubt surrounding Hax's death for that to be believed, especially by your fellow foxes in this castle."

Adah knew this to be true. "He's right," she commented.

"And most of that evidence is fabricated anyway, particularly the part about the murder of members of the royal guard," Moroni continued to counter, "We both know that happened at your orders, the deed carried out by your mercenaries hidden somewhere in the woods."

Now Adah was very impressed with what Moroni knew. She didn't think anyone save herself and Methusael knew the mercenaries were even there. Methusael was caught a bit off guard by this revelation too, but bounced back quickly. He shook his head, unable to hold back a grin.

"You certainly have figured out a great deal, captain," he commented, "You're a little fuzzy on a few details here and there, but I'm impressed on just how much you've figured out."

"To us mice, there was no doubt who was responsible when you staged your little coup d'état, probably because we mice have been suffering the brunt of your actions, whereas the foxes, lucky for you, have been more sheltered. That's the only reason you've gotten this far with this, you know."

"Oh, I know," Methusael admitted, which surprised Adah, as she didn't think he'd admit this fact to be true, "Rather convenient, actually."

"Yes, you still have most of the foxes in Angola loyal to you. But the mice of the land aren't being so easily swayed. For instance, the rebellion's numbers increased sharply after you took over the land."

Adah had hoped that would be the case. Feeling victorious that one prediction of hers was true already, she eyed Methsuael to see what kind of reaction he had to this. But Methusael had _wanted _to hear this as well.

"And here we reach the point where I mention that you know of valuable information that I want," he remarked, stooping down to be at Moroni's eye level, "Tell me just how many members there are in your rebellion. Scores? Hundreds? Thousands? The whole village?"

Moroni didn't reply. Adah didn't think he would. Why would he? He was doomed to die here soon. He had nothing to loose.

"Who are some of the rebels?" Methusael said, trying still anyway, "I want names. Where do they live? How well supplied are you? What plans do you have against me? Where are you hiding Mordecai?"

Moroni still didn't reply. Furstrated, Methusael turned away from him, growling.

"I need to know all of that, Moroni," he urged, "And you will tell me that, and hopefully more."

"More, you say?" Moroni repeated, mocking the idea, "Assuming I told you all that you have asked me to tell you, what more could you possibly want to know?"

Methusael half-grinned. His reply was unexpected for both Moroni and Adah. "The location of Kani."

Adah stared at Methusael in surprise, and realized suddenly that his assignment for Aurora to hunt him down had not come to light yet. Of course it hadn't, Aurora hadn't returned yet. In fact, it was taking Aurora longer than even Adah had expected to carry out that assignment. Something must of happened. But whatever the case, Methusael had no better idea where Kani was than she did.

"What makes you think I even know anything about that?" Moroni asked, his eyes narrowing at Methusael.

"It's no secret that you rebels sheltered him when I staged my coup, captain. Then you helped him leave. Now, I sent a mercenary after him to finish him off…" Moroni glanced up sharply at this, clearly not knowing this fact, "…but she has failed to report back as of yet. I'm starting to wonder if something came up. So it would help if I knew where he was."

"For than one creature," Adah added, also curious.

"Well, I don't intend to tell either of you," Moroni said determinedly.

Adah winced at this. With Methusael, she could understand why Moroni wouldn't want to tell him anything, but the fact that the case seemed to be the same for herself stung, because it meant Moroni didn't trust her. Looking back, she could see why. She had made it clear to those looking on that she supported Methusael, because she sided with him. She had her chance to rebel, and turned it down.

Not for the first time, she regretted the choice.

"Pity," Methusael commented about the matter, and started for the door, but then on a sudden thought, held back for a moment and turned back, "I understand that you have a wife, captain. Perhaps I shall have to arrange to meet with her instead."

Adah looked at Methusael in shock. She wanted to say that he didn't dare do that, but at the same time knew that Methusael could and would do it if he felt the need. Moroni was equally shocked by the blatant threat.

"Ruth?" he repeated in a whisper, then twisted around to look at Methusael and yelled, "You leave her out of this!"

"But he won't!" Adah remarked, leaving her spot and advancing towards Moroni, knowing that Methusael was making a very real threat, "And I know, because he won't leave Kani alone, either."

Moroni turned to look at her. Methusael grinned at the sight, and chose to ignore them both, and opened the door ajar to converse with Juniper waiting outside. Seeing this, Moroni opted to speak to the vixen about all of this, lowering his voice so to not be overheard.

"Why are you sided with him, Mistress Adah?" he asked simply.

There was several ways Adah could answer that question. In the end, she opted to shirk it. "As you said yourself, it's a very long story, captain," she said, then hung her head before adding, "I fear it might be too late to back out anyway."

"The only time it's too late to switch sides is when you're dead."

Adah glanced at Moroni. She was unsure if the comment was meant to be an insult, a simply statement of fact, or words of encouragement. But Moroni didn't get the chance to say more, because Juniper reentered the room and he and the other guard marched the mouse captain back out of the room, leaving just her and Methusael behind, alone. Adah stared at the floor, lost momentarily in thought. Methusael stepped towards her, grinning.

"Have a soft spot for him, do you?" he asked.

"I can relate with his situation, as you _should _know," Adah remarked bitterly, as she looked up, deciding something. Moroni was right. It wasn't too late to change sides until you were dead. And maybe she would end up dead after doing this, but she was going to see how much trouble she could cause first. Angrily, she started for the door. "I didn't ask to get mixed up with this. If the circumstances were different, I would _kill _you where you stand."

Methusael was taken aback by the threat, but shrugged it off. "But you won't," he said confidently.

"Not directly," Adah called back as she went out the door, "But rest assured, I'll find way. Besides, you admitted that you planned to kill Kani from the beginning, and I _told _you what I'd do if it came to that."

As she hurried out into the hallway, she knew that it probably would've been better if she hadn't said that, as she had revealed to Methusael what she planned to do. And now not even Methusael's questionable attraction to her would protect her now. She was too much of a risk. Methusael was going to have to take action, and stop her.

But Adah didn't care.

She had a plan.

A plan to end this.

And she was going to carry it out.


	19. Take Note Of This Day

Time for some action! :D

19.

"Take Note Of This Day"

The first thing Adah did was head straight to the castle's recordkeeping room, and started sorting through the records for a current map of the village. She quickly uncovered the one she wanted and set it down on the desk, rapidly flipping through it. Per law, it listed every present inhabitant in Angola. Everyone had their name added to it the moment they were born. For the mice, records of their place of residence was also kept, which was what Adah was really interested in.

She scanned the list of mice names until she found Captain Moroni's name. That done, she cross-referenced the name to the list of his place of residence, and found his cottage on a crude map. Using that map, Adah traced a path from Midnight Castle to it, and tried to memorize it. Once she felt she had, she returned the recordbook to it's shelf. Hopefully, she won't need it again.

Grabbing a cloak, she promptly headed out after that, exiting the castle, and heading out into the village itself. She kept her pace quick and brisk, knowing that time was running out, and that she no doubt would soon be in grave danger. As she went, she kept a vigilant, but secret, eye out for trouble. At one point, she caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye, then again a little later. They were gone just as quickly as they were there, but while Adah did little to react to what she saw, she took note of it.

Methusael wasn't failing to disappoint her. He had already sicced his mercenaries on her, no doubt with orders to keep an eye on her, and to act accordingly when she did something they knew she shouldn't. They were discreetly following her on the roofs of the cottages themselves, and were doing a very good job at hiding themselves, but because Adah was somewhat familiar with how they worked, she stood a better chance of spying them, even if briefly. They were also armed.

Adah focused on her goal. It was a touch hard to find, in fact she had almost walked past it, but thankfully caught her almost-error and changed course before stopping on the doorstep of Moroni's cottage. Taking a deep breath, and knowing that this act was in outright betrayal of Methsuael's orders, she rapped urgently on the door. There was no immediate response to answer the door, but she heard movement behind the door, so she knew somebeast was there. She knocked again, even more urgently this time. Even more movement, then the door was suddenly flung open and a swordtip was pointed at Adah's neck.

The bearer of the sword was a male mouse in militia attire. Standing fearfully behind him was a female mouse wearing a loose-fitting robe over her garmets. Adah presumed she was Moroni's wife, and the male was another rebel in league with Moroni, at least until he had been captured. Knowing that time was short, Adah peered down the length of the deadly blade tickling her nape and into the eye of it's wielder.

"If you wish to know why I'm here, then you had better let me in before I'm shot dead where I stand. For I'm being followed."

There was a long pause as both mice digested this information. Neither seemed to doubt her claims, but they were clearly leery about the idea of letting a fox with Adah's prestige, and recently, poor track record, into the cottage. Adah didn't blame them for their mistrust, but there wasn't time for it. Finally, maybe out of curiosity, the swordsbeast nodded, and stepped aside to allow Adah to enter. He did so while keeping Moroni's wife protectively behind him and the sword pointed at her throat. Adah didn't let this bother her, closing the door as she slipped inside so to both hide herself from view of the spying mercenaries, and to keep them from having a clear shot at her.

"All right, start explaining," the swordsmouse stated.

"I'm on your side," Adah pressed flatly, "I'm here to help."

"Are you now?" the swordsmouse asked sarcastically, "And how do you plan to prove that?"

"I'm here, aren't I?" Adah asked, motioning to herself, then jabbed a claw back at the door she had just entered through, "I take one step out there, and I'll be shot dead. Would that be proof enough for you?"

"It just might, yes."

"Amulek!" Moroni's wife exclaimed in protest, "At least hear her through!"

"Why should I?" the swordsbeast, Amulek, remarked, glancing back at the mousewife, "Last I knew, she's still sided with the enemy!"

"Maybe so, but there must be a reason why Mistress Adah has come here," the wife pointed out.

Amulek glanced back at Adah. "Why are you here, vixen?" he demanded.

"I _told _you, I'm here to help."

"Help? Well, what about Moroni? Did you help him?"

"It is my intention to do so in anyway possible, but first you must hear me through."

"I'm still not sure I _want _to hear you through. Right now, though, my chief concern is getting Ruth to safety, then figure out some way to save Moroni before he's executed. Which, by the way, I can thank the likes of you for."

"It wasn't my idea to execute anyone, that was all Methusael's idea. I'm _completely _against the idea, but Methusael won't hear of it!"

"Then what good can you do?"

"Look, I have an idea."

"Oh, do you now?"

"Yes, I do. But I won't tell it to you unless you _trust _me."

"But I _don't_, and have no reason to! You had your chance to defy Methusael like Bluejay and Mordecai had, or so they told me, but you turned it down!"

"I was scared, frightened, and Methusael promised me that he wouldn't hurt Kani if I helped him," ashamed of the memory, Adah lowered her gaze, "That had made all the difference at the time…but I see now it was nothing but a lie," her glare narrowed, "It's time I did something about that."

There was a moment of silence that fell.

"What does Lord Kani have to do with this?" Ruth asked finally.

"Kani was Methusael's bargaining chip for control over me," Adah confessed, feeling further ashamed, and adverted her gaze even more.

Ruth furrowed her brow, and exchanged glances with Amulek. She seemed to slowly believe Adah's word, but Amulek seemed unsure still.

"You two were close?" Ruth asked.

Adah nodded, "Methusael knew it, too. He said that he wouldn't kill Kani if I helped him, and fearing for Kani's life...I felt compelled to agree...for his own safety, not my own. Because of that, I've done things that I'm not at all proud of, and that you have every right to blame me for. If Kani knew some of the things that I've done…" Adah sniffed and shook her head, "But if I _hadn't_, Kani wouldn't have lived long enough to escape. Methusael would have killed him along with his brother and his mother long ago. It was because of me that he had the chance to live, and escape to who knows where," she paused, glancing hopefully at the pair of mice, "Please, where has Kani gone?"

"Hopefully somewhere helpful to our cause," Amulek stated, not convinced, "As for you, I still think I should kill you where you stand."

"Fine," Adah stated flatly, getting a little fed up at his lack of cooperation, and had accepted the fact that it might come to this, "If you really want to and think I deserve nothing more and that I can't help you, then just do it. I just ask you make it quick."

She waited for Amulek to carry out the deed, bracing herself. But Amulek didn't. He didn't back down, either.

"Amulek, if she has an idea, that's one idea more than you have," Ruth pointed out, clearly already knowing where she was going to put her trust.

Amulek blinked, but hesitated a moment further. Finally, he lowered his blade with a frustrated growl.

"All right, I'll take the gamble, and listen to your idea, _but first_ we're getting Ruth out of here and to safety," he pressed, "She's no safer here than you are."

"Good," Adah said, relieved, and showing it with a grin, "I think you won't regret it," she glanced back at the door, knowing that the two mercenaries that had been following her probably were wondering what she was up to and probably would be barging in to look for her here shortly, "But we'll need to be quick."

And quick they were. By the time the Sais and Grim had forced their way into the cottage a few moments later had searched the structure for creatures, they were long gone.

* * *

"I take it there's going to be no talking Methusael out of this execution, then," Adah noted with a tone of dismay later, once she was back at the castle.

She strolled over to the front gates where the two prisoners to be executed, Bluejay and Moroni, were standing under guard, awaiting to be moved outside for the execution. Outside, the would-be audience, all of the mice in Angola, were gathering to be the reluctant witnesses of the event. Methusael was also out there, watching the preparations anxiously. He seemed to be the only creature present who was eager to do this.

The group turned to look at her as she approached. Moroni narrowed his eyes at her slightly, but it was hard to tell if it was look of anger or something else. Beside him, Bluejay still bore a great deal of the red coloring in her fur, making her look like an entirely different fox, but enough had rubbed out now in the time that had passed since last night that one could still identify her for who she was.

"Mistress Adah," one of the guards greeted, a little surprised.

"Come to see us die, eh?" Bluejay remarked coldly.

"I wish I didn't have to, but Methusael…" she trailed off, thinking she didn't have to explain herself. She approached the two prisoners, getting close to them. The guards watched her closely, but weren't alarmed about her approaching so close. "Look, I'm sorry it has come to this, you two. You should know that I in no way support your deaths, or even your imprisonment. We both know who's really at fault for this."

"And yet you support him," Moroni said, furrowing his brow in puzzlement, clearly not understanding this one fact, "Why?"

Adah glanced at him sadly. "It's not because I want to," she confessed, "I've never supported him. He's just…left me little choice."

"So you'd rather see us die than yourself, in other words," Bluejay growled, perturbed by this one fact. She was obviously terrified of the idea of dying, and was lashing out because of it. Adah didn't mind. In all honesty, she probably deserved it.

Adah stepped towards the healer vixen. "No," she said calmly, then leaned closer, "Just…act as you see fit."

Bluejay blinked, and looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"You'll see," she turned to Moroni, "Captain, I wish to apologize to you, too."

"And why is that?" Moroni asked.

"I know you have family, who will be loosing an important member today," Adah said, dropping down to her knees, "And I feel I can't do enough to prepare you for that."

"Prepare _me_?" Moroni repeated, seeing a hole in that logic, "What…"

But he was cut short when Adah suddenly hugged him sympathetically. Bluejay's eyebrows went up at this, and the guard's exchanged glances, wondering if they were supposed to prohibit acts like this on prisoners. Moroni, however, did not protest.

Because while she was hugging him, Adah pressed a dagger she had been keeping out of view of the guards into the mouse's bound paws. Moroni blinked when he felt the familiar shape of the cold metal press against his flesh, but otherwise wisely did not react. Understanding everything about what Adah was doing now, he accepted the dagger, and with a well-practiced move with one paw, flicked the blade point first up his sleeve and out of sight. Adah released him and stood again. Moroni looked up at her, his face now a completely different expression.

"Thank you, I understand now," he said calmly.

Adah nodded, and turned away. As she did, she caught a glimpse Bluejay's expression, which was looking at her very oddly. The guards were also giving her a slightly odd look, but they did not protest her actions, and apparently were opting to just ignore it had even happened.

Adah addressed them anyway. "Thank you for letting me talk with them," she said mournfully, then slipped past them and out the front doors.

Once she was, she allowed a big grin to spread across her face. Her plan was working.

Seeing that just about everybeast had gathered in front of the castle steps, and that the execution would take place soon, Adah strolled idly down the steps to where Methusael stood about halfway up them, and purposely took up a place to stand near him. Methusael glanced at her idly, then did a double take.

"Adah!" he exclaimed, clearly surprised to see her here, that surprise just as quickly turning into suspicion, "Where the devil have you been?"

"None of your business," was Adah's curt reply.

But of course, Methusael didn't buy that, and only became even more suspicious. He wasn't quite sure what to do about Adah's sudden reappearance, though, so he let the subject drop for a moment. A little later, he brought up a slightly different one.

"I didn't really expect you'd come to watch as well," he commented to her, "Seeing you were against the idea and all."

"I came to mostly see how the villagers would react to the execution. Should prove to be interesting, especially whatever your reaction to it might be. I'm still very much against the idea, however, and I still stand by what I've said before."

Methusael's ego kicked in here, overriding his suspicion of her. "Then allow me to prove you wrong," he commented, determined that he was going to do just that.

And with that, he let the subject drop, for good this time. He did opt to put a bit more distance between him and her, though, clearly not trusting her. Adah didn't mind. Methusael was clearly expecting her to do something. But little did he know, Adah technically wasn't going to do _anything_. About by this time, everyone who was going to arrive had arrived, and the execution was ready to begin. Grinning, Methusael stepped forward and motioned for silence so he could speak.

"Welcome, everyone! And thank you for coming."

Adah felt her stomach grow queasy. He made it sound like the whole event was a traveling performer's show, not an execution.

"No doubt that since last night, you have been hearing a great deal of varying accounts about what occurred. I will now briefly summarize the tale. The rebelling mice, it seems, had found a way to gain access to certain cells in the dungeons of Midnight Castle, and used this to their advantage, attempting a jailbreak to free two prisoners in the cell, one of which was the healer, Bluejay, who had been placed in the dungeons for the murder of Lady Grinta by Lord Kani's order. The group then tried to break away, but I am happy to say that they were caught in the act by the royal guard, and they attacked. Unfortunately, most of those involved escaped, but I did manage to capture two of them, which I bring before you now," he turned to the castle doors, "Bring them out!"

The doors opened, and the guards brought the two prisoners out. They appeared to both be fairly angry, and resisting their bindings to no avail. A ripple of gasps rang out as the onlookers recognized the pair. The prisoners were brought down the steps and forced to kneel before two members of the royal guard, armed with sharp swords. They were to carry out the execution. Methusael paused and allowed for plenty of time for the audience to get a good look at the prisoners. Adah knew he wanted this event to carry as much impact as he could manage.

"I believe you recognize these two," Methsuael continued speaking finally, "Bluejay, whom you already know for her crimes. New to you, however, is Moroni, captain of the Angolian militia of mice, and is now to be revealed not only a rebel, but the _leader _of the rebels, plotting to take over the land, through any means possible. You should already be familiar with the crimes that are charged against him," he paused to survey the crowd, "You are gathered here now…to observe what I do to rebels who resist my rule."

He nodded to the executioners, who raised their blades, preparing to make the final kill. Adah's eyes locked onto Moroni, waiting for him to make his move. But move he did not. Instead, he, like Bluejay, was looking out into the crowd at the familiar faces. He seemed to be searching for one in particular. Adah scanned the crowd as well, unsure what it was he was looking for, but had a good idea. More rebels. Adah knew they were there, though, and ready. Now wasn't the time to double-check that, the time was for Moroni to make his move.

The executioners lined up their blades with the necks of the prisoners. Still Moroni did not make his move. Adah was wondering what he was doing, and worried something might have gone wrong. Did Moroni misunderstand the unspoken plan? Could he somehow not make use of the dagger fast enough? Did it get discovered by the guards and removed before he was taken out here? What was going wrong?

The executioners now, almost moving as one, raised their blades above their heads to make the fatal swing that would behead the prisoners. Adah inhaled sharply, and thinking it was too late now, started to look away. But then Moroni suddenly sprang up, his paws suddenly free and the dagger glinting in one paw. In the same quick movement, he plunged the dagger into the swordsbeast about to chop off his head, killing the fox. A gasp rippled out from the crowd, and Adah heard such a gasp escape Methusael's lips as well. The other executioner, seeing the commotion out of the corner of his eye, paused mid-swing, just before he slew Bluejay, and looked up. He did so in time for Moroni to grab the dead executioner's sword and hurl it at the other executioner, catching him in the chest. All chaos broke loose after that as everyone started to react to these events. Methusael started to run forward, accompanied by Juniper, to stop them.

The moment he ran past Adah, however, Adah lashed out and grabbed Methusael wrapping one arm around his neck and pulling him close to her.

"Surprise," she whispered into his ear.

"Adah!" Methusael gasped as he grabbed at Adah's arm, "Release me!"

"No, I don't think I will," Adah replied coldly, "Not until I can insure that _everything_ you have so carefully planned is ruined."

Methusael let out a yell, and started struggling against Adah's grip, clawing viciously at her arm wrapped about his neck, gorging the flesh and drawing blood, but Adah held him closely anyway, taking sadistic enjoyment in infuriating Methusael like this. In the meantime, Juniper, noticing Methusael's predicament, stopped, and debating going to help him first, or going to try and stop the growing melee occurring at the bottom of the castle steps, where Moroni, having freed Bluejay, joined the panicked crowd and from within that crowd rebels were firing popshots with slingstones at the members of the royal guard that were gathering at the steps, trying vainly to restore order.

Finally, Juniper, seeing that Methusael was starting to gasp for breath under Adah's crushing grip around his throat, opted to help him first, and hurried towards her. Adah watched him approach very closely.

"Three…two…one," she said, then with a shove, threw Methusael's barely conscious form into the approaching fox. Both went down in a tangled heap, buying Adah more than enough time to make a run for it.

She quickly and safely merged with the crowd, and quickly crossed paths with Amulek.

"Fine day for a rebellion, hmm?" she asked him, motioning for a sling and some slingstones.

Amulek gave her a look, then handed them over, "Certainly is, particularly when it's as nicely planned as this one is," and as the plan was hers, he was giving her a compliment, and that was something, as Amulek had been skeptical about the plan's success from the moment Adah proposed it.

"Special thanks of course go to those who brought enough creatures to pull it off, though," Adah replied, her way of saying thanks, and threw off a slingstone, aiming for Methsuael's head. The shot fell very short, though, and instead bounced off the helmet of a royal guard member, but it added to the chaos, and that was good enough.

The scuffle continued on for a few moments while Methsuael watched on in dismay, clearly knowing that this meant his plans, his oh-so-precious plans, were crumbling down all around him. Finally he came to his senses, and called the royal guard off their attack and to back off, regrouping up the stairs before the castle gates. A quick analysis of the battle's outcomes was taken. Few had been injured beyond bumps and scrapes, and only the two executioners had been killed. But the royal guard was in total disarray at the moment, and their opponents rivaled their numbers. The victory clearly went to the rebels. One look at Methusael's dismayed face saw that he knew this.

Moroni and Amulek, being the two leading representatives of the rebel forces, stepped forward to the front of the group to address Methusael. Bluejay tagged along, possibly to watch, but more likely did it for the same reason Adah quickly joined the group; for a chance to gloat.

If any gloating was about to be done, however, Adah beat everyone to the punch and was first to speak.

"I told you this would happen, Methusael!" she crowed loudly at her long-time foe, so happy and excited at this victory that she could barely keep still. For the first time in many days, she felt truly happy. "Never underestimate your enemies!"

"Or your allies, for that matter, because you never know if they might turn on you!" Bluejay added snidely, rubbing in the blow.

These comments clearly infuriated Methusael, who was bright red with anger, but it would've only spurred Adah onward, so Moroni quickly stepped in to get to business.

"We have you surrounded, Methusael!" he called, "We're willing to fight down to the last creature, but we don't want that bloodshed. We're willing to spare your life if you stand down and surrender your control of the land and the throne of his majesty, Kani Fennix, immediately!"

Methusael scanned the group, saw that this was true, and for one frightened moment, debated his options to himself. In the end, his stubbornness won out. "Never! I will beat the likes of you yet!"

"Then take note of this day, Methusael!" Moroni called back, "Because as of this day, civil war has broken loose in Angola!"


	20. With A Little Luck

And with that brief moment of action...it's gone again. :-/ Basically goes back to Adah wondering what to do now. A bit more time passes during which little really happens. We're getting near the end, though, and I like the ending (the fic's one redeeming moment) so there's that much. Four more chapters I think it is...

20.

"With A Little Luck"

And true to his word, Midnight Castle was besieged that very day, bottling up both Methusael and the royal guard inside the castle. Moroni had his forces, which grew significantly that day when it became clear who and what Methsuael truly was, completely surround the castle, and still have enough standing by to protect the village. Their numbers, it was estimated, was at least equal to that of the royal guard. Because the odds were so evenly matched, and the final outcomes of any battle unknown, neither side was really keen to start a fight.

So Methusael, deciding himself beat for that day, withdrew to sort out the problem, and left the royal guard to defend the castle if it came to attack, but not start one until told to. So there was no further battling that day. And as night fell, it was clear this was good news for the inhabitants of village, and some mild celebrating was done. Granted, they hadn't won yet, but they had still scored a significant victory.

Adah, however, was just glad that she was finally away from Methusael, and the truth about him revealed, and was ready to call it a night. So were most of everyone else, but there were a few more final issues that needed addressing before turning in. Including one thing that Bluejay absolutely insisted she had to have before the night was over.

A bath.

"Ahhh…" the healer vixen sighed as she allowed herself to sink into the sudsy bathwater the wooden tub was filled with, until only her head was still visible, "I have longed for this for _days_. I don't even want to _think _about what kind of grit and grime I'm covered in, or the kind of filth that's trapped in my fur."

Adah, who sat across the room of the cottage on a chair, letting a mouse healer by the name of Sister Daisy bandage the cuts and scratches Methusael's claws had left in her arm, chuckled. "Of all the things to miss while you're locked up in a prison," she murmured.

"Yes, it's always the last thing you'd expect," Bluejay agreed, rolling around in the tub so to look at Adah, "Actually, I had plenty of other things on my mind as well, like seeing to it that Methusael got his just reward. But I will admit that a bath was one of the first things I told myself I would do the moment I got out of those dungeons."

Sister Daisy grinned as she wrapped bandages around Adah's arm, "One probably would need a bath after all of that," she agreed.

"I, personally, am just glad that it's over," Adah remarked to herself as she watched the mousemaiden treat her wounds, "that Methusael no longer has any power over me."

Bluejay was silent for a moment, then sighed. "Look, Adah, about that…" she began, "Look, I was kind of bitter to you earlier, and…I'm sorry. Obviously, I didn't understand what was really going on."

"It's all right, you have every reason to hate me."

"I never hated you, Adah. I was just…frustrated at the fact that you seemed to put yourself over everyone else."

"Who says I didn't?"

"You were scared. And rightfully so. Look, all that matters is that you pulled through in the end," Bluejay gave her an encouraging grin, "You helped make a difference in the end."

"I suppose I did," Adah agreed, as Sister Daisy finished bandaging the wounds, "I just wish I had done it sooner," she thought of some of the things that had happened because of her that shouldn't with much guilt, "Much sooner."

* * *

A little later that evening, when Adah headed to the downstairs of Moroni's cottage after having her injured properly treated, she crossed paths with the mouse captain himself.

"Adah, there you are," he said, strolling over. He glanced at her bandaged arm, "Arm going to be okay?"

"Yeah, Sister Daisy promises it'll heal completely," Adah assured him, glancing at the injured arm, "Won't even leave scars."

"Good to hear," Moroni said with a satisfied nod, "All things considered, I think we were lucky that we all escaped with so few injured, with none of them serious. Anyway, the next step is to plan our next move, and I was thinking a map of Midnight Castle would help with that. And seeing you, Bluejay, and Mordecai know the most about the castle's interior…"

"I can help put together a map of the castle," Adah assured him anxiously, "Anything to help. Anything to make amends for my actions."

"Oh, don't worry about that, I certainly think you've done that already, with what you did back at the execution," Moroni dismissed.

"Maybe to you, yes," Adah agreed, hanging her head, "But not to myself."

Moroni placed a comforting paw on hers. "Adah, I know you're probably feeling bad for putting any kind of support in Methusael, but given the circumstance, I think you had good reasons, and…"

"It's not just Methusael I'm concerned about," Adah interrupted.

"What else is there, then?"

Adah hesitated. "I've done thing I'm ashamed of, Moroni. Things I don't think should be so quickly forgiven…"

"But they are," Moroni pressed, without waiting to hear what they are, "Adah, you just put your life on the line to help beat Methusael, and it worked. I think in the long run that counters whatever it is that's still making you feel guilty."

Adah glanced up at him. "Really?"

"Really. Besides, you don't really deserve to feel guilty about anything, Adah. Like the rest of us, you were just as much a victim of Methsuael's plans as we were. What's important now is not pinning blame on trivial things, but stopping Methusael before he can cause more trouble. You understand?"

Adah nodded.

"Good," Moroni said, "And cheer up, Adah, we had a victory today to celebrate."

"Yes," Adah repeated as Moroni walked off, "A victory."

So why did that victory feel so hollow to her?

* * *

It took a couple of days, but Adah eventually figured out why that was. She still wasn't being truthful about everything. Everyone had presumed that the blame for events such as Hax and Lady Grinta's murders fell entirely with Methusael. They hadn't stopped to think that while Methusael had maybe arranged for those deaths, he didn't actually carry them out. Adah had. Intentionally or otherwise was a subject to debate, however, which was one thing that held Adah back from even mentioning the issue.

Given the nature of Lady Grinta's death, Adah told herself that the truth about that death would probably be viewed as accidental, just as Bluejay's involvement in that murder was also viewed as accidental. This was mildly reassuring, but Adah still felt guilty for it. And then there was the fact that there was no denying that she killed Hax. And there was no clear cut line as to whether or not it was accidental. In all honesty, Adah didn't _want _to kill Hax…but she had anyway. She was the one that had stabbed him.

But she said nothing about it. Things were suddenly looking better, for the first time since that winter season. Adah didn't want to ruin that, for herself, or for anyone else. If they were to beat Methusael, they needed to keep their spirits up, even if the odds were now suddenly in their favor. And besides, it wasn't so much what Moroni and the other inhabitants of Angola thought about the truth should they ever discover it that Adah was worried about. It was what Kani would think if he found out the truth. Because she knew Kani wouldn't be so ready to forgive and forget. They were his family that had died after all. And she had participated in their deaths.

Eventually, though, as things began progressing along nicely even though everybody but her, Methusael, and maybe a few select others that only Methusael really needed to worry about knowing only the partial truth, Adah began to force herself to relax. Maybe, with a little luck, this will all end with everyone believing that Methusael alone was to blame for those deaths, allowing Adah to continue life normally.

But deep down, she knew that wasn't right.

She ignored it, though.

In the meantime, the days passed slowly, and the siege continued. Methusael did not try to attack, and nor did the rebellion. Neither had advantage enough to try it. So the conflict stagnated for the moment. No further progress was made for either side, no progress was lost. Methusael and all of his forces seemed to be bottled up in the castle with him. Even his mercenaries seemed to have vanished, for Adah privately went to their camp searching for them, and found the camp empty. This meant that the rebels had full control of the rest of Angola.

As such, life more or less continued onward and reverted back into the usual day-to-day activities. The mousewives looked after their homes and cooked meals. The militia kept guard and protected those within the village, and so forth. Each creature had some kind of job to keep them busy. As for Adah, Bluejay, and Mordecai, however, they typically kept busy working together to try and make a map and layout of Midnight Castle from memory. While both Adah and Bluejay could picture portions of the castle in their heads, however, they struggled with the details. Thankfully, Mordecai had a very unusually retentive memory and an eye for detail, and helped immensely.

Finally, the maps were ready, and one night, several nights after the siege had began, Moroni and some of his key followers sat down with the three foxes to look at the maps and try and make a plan in Moroni's kitchen.

"All right, let's start with what we know," Moroni began, pointing at the map laid out on the table they were all gathered around, "Where are all of the exits in and out of the castle?"

"Here, here, here, here, and here are the conventional ones," Mordecai stated, pointing at the exits with his claw, "And I know of a few lesser used ones here, here, and here."

"Don't forget the secret tunnel we found that runs along the dungeons," Amulek pointed out, referring to the tunnel that had apparently been used to get Mordecai and Bluejay out of the dungeons in the first place, and he tapped at it's general location on the map even though it was not included, "That could potentially be used as an entrance."

"Or an exit," a mouse Adah had not met until the day of the siege named Hyrum stated.

"Doesn't help that both sides knows it's there, does it?" another mouse Adah had not previously known named Ammon.

"Let's just stick with what we know," Moroni stated, and tapped the map again, "Now, how many creatures do we know to be in there?"

"Roughly about four score of the royal guard, and Methusael, not counting any servants that are in there as well, by our last count," a mouse named Neph said, "And we know that Methusael has guards stationed at all of the trademark entrances and exits. The rest are stationed all throughout the castle within, out of sight."

"And we know that Methusael typically stays in the upper levels, either in Kani's study, or the royal chambers," Bluejay added, pointing at the rooms in question on the map.

Moroni stared at the map for a moment, trying to make a plan out of that information, but like the rest of them, was struggling. "I'm just drawing a blank. I mean, I can see a whole mess of ways to potentially get in the castle, and take it by force, but…I want to try and do this as peacefully as possible."

"Unfortunately, we may not have that choice, Captain Moroni," Mordecai pointed out.

"We _do _outnumber them, however," Amulek pointed out, "We can still fight this battle and win."

"Yes, but not without losses on both sides, and there is still a good chance it all ends poorly for us," Moroni argued back, "If it did come to a full frontal battle, I would rather that I had more creatures in our ranks."

Adah, who silently listened to all of this discussion from where she stood in a nearby corner of the kitchen, separate from the group but still close enough to participate, agreed with that thought. They may outnumber Methusael's forces now, just barely, but it wasn't much of a lead, and there was the fact that Methusael's forces had more skill and training than many of them did, which might just be enough to compensate for the difference in numbers. Having even more numbers on their side so that they easily outnumbered Methusael's forces would be more desired.

"We already have every capable fighting creature in the village rallied to us, though," Neph stated, pointing out the obvious.

Moroni nodded, "I know."

"We could just wait a little longer," Hyrum suggested, scratching at his large ears and thinking aloud, "I mean, we know that resources at the castle are running low, and are about to run out. That has to be seriously trying the loyalty of the royal guard. If we wait long enough, they might just turn against Methusael on their own, and solve our problems for us."

"Yes, but then again, they might not," Ammon reasoned, "And who knows how much longer that might take."

"We can afford to wait," Neph stated, "We have the steady flow of supplies."

"Yes, but…should we really have to wait?"

"Waiting could possibly resolve this more peacefully, however," Moroni confessed, then glanced at Adah, "What are your thoughts, Mistress Adah? Any ideas?"

Adah glanced up at him when he addressed her, not really prepared to voice any ideas. But she did voice the one idea that appealed to her the most. "Well, there is one thing we could wait for," she stepped towards the table, "Kani."

Kani still hadn't returned to Angola by this point in time, but neither had the mercenary that had been sent after him, Aurora. She was severely overdue to do so now. Adah personally took this as a sign of hope, thinking that Kani had managed to avoid trouble from the mercenary as was still alive and all right out there somewhere. They all knew this as the group considered Adah's proposal.

"I suppose," Amulek agreed, "But we have no guarantee his lordship would return with the necessary help."

"Or in time," Ammon said, pointing out this obvious fact, "He's been gone for several weeks now, with no signs whatsoever that he will be coming back anytime soon."

"Or at all," Moroni said, who knew they needed to be realistic about this. "Adah, I know you don't want to hear it, but Kani has already been gone far longer than any of us anticipated. Something must have happened. And we know that Methusael sent a mercenary after him, so maybe…"

Adah refused to hear it, though. Kani had to be all right, she knew it. "No, if that were true, that mercenary would have come back by now, but she has been just as long herself. Kani still lives, I know it. Something has simply…delayed him."

"I do not believe we can wait for him, however," Mordecai commented, also being realistic, "This situation cannot continue like this for much longer."

Moroni agreed, and rolled up the plans again. "Agreed. So here's the deal. Mordecai, Bluejay, Adah, you all know Midnight Castle better than we do. Sit down and try and think of anything we might have overlooked about it. Hyrum, I believe you're going to be heading up to the castle for a turn on patrol? When you go up there, keep your eyes out for anything we can use to our advantage. Amulek, I liked your message arrow idea we tried earlier today. Go ahead and look into trying it again. Use the same message, a request to surrender. Maybe sooner or later, someone in Midnight Castle will listen. As for the rest of you, just sit tight. One way or another, we're going to finish this matter once and for all."

And with that, the meeting was over. Adah sighed, watched the group all depart, before she left as well, one of the last to turn. She wanted to do her idea. To wait for Kani. To provide support for him. To believe that he would return. But at the same time she knew that the points brought up about the matter was true too, and logically speaking, had to be considered. Time and practicality just wasn't on her side on this matter, and she was just going to have to acknowledge that.


	21. At Long Last

I acknowledge that this chapter's events is a little bit convenient timing wise, giving what was discussed last chapter, but hey, this was how events fell in "Warrior of Redwall." Speaking of which, this chapter eludes to the existence of the other half of the story, but doesn't go in to detail IN THE SLIGHTEST. That's all in "Warrior of Redwall", so if you want to find out those details, that is the fanfic you want (I'm so cruel). :P

21.

"At Long Last"

The next day, she, Bluejay, and Mordecai all sat down to do as Moroni had requested of them. They mulled over the plans they had drawn, trying to see if they could come up with some kind of idea the rest of them had not already through of the night previous. Finally, after having spent most of the day working on it, Mordecai noted the location of the castle's barracks for the royal guard and the terrain that surrounded it, and voiced a possible plan to center an incursion here. Bluejay and Adah both questioned the idea, and Mordecai even agreed that the plan was only half-baked, but it was something.

So they reported to Moroni that they could be onto something, and he promised to take the time to see what they had the first chance he had. At the moment, though, he was busy with other things, although exactly what Adah never got the chance to find out. Later, he reported he was ready, but then Hyrum came and stated that Moroni was needed out at the village borders; they had found someone who wanted to meet with him. So Moroni left to do that, promising to see their plans the moment he got back from that. In the meantime, it gave the three foxes more time to come up with a plan.

But then the rumors about the creature, or creatures, Moroni had gone with Hyrum to meet with, started filtering back into the village. And the rumors, despite their truthfulness being unsure at the time, quickly caused quite a hubbub. Because the news was a bit unexpected. Even Adah, who had been hoping for this to happen, was not quite expecting to hear the rumors, which were quickly proven to be truth by sunset.

Kani had returned to Angola at long last.

And he had brought help.

Led by Captain Moroni, Kani and his forces were marched into the village like an impromptu parade, and the reaction of the onlookers, enforced this imagery. There was much cheering and celebrating. Kani had come home, no worse for wear. And the forces he brought with him, a bunch of friendly a diverse creatures willing to help the Angolian cause, increased their numbers immensely, enough to give them that edge in numbers that they had been wanting. They now undisputedly outnumbered the royal guard protecting Midnight Castle, and if it came to a fight, could take the castle easily.

But Adah's concern for the moment was Kani, hurrying out into the streets as the group marched past. He didn't look the least bit different. Maybe a bit elder, and he looked like he had returned having learned a thing or two during the time was gone, and he carried with him a magnificent sword Adah knew that he hadn't had when he left, but otherwise he was unhurt, and the same Kani she had always known.

As he approached, she told herself that she was going to show restraint, and greet him properly, as the lord that he was, but being so filled with happiness that she was nearly being driven to tears, finally couldn't withhold herself, and threw herself upon the fox she had missed for so long.

"Kani!" she yelled as she grabbed the surprised fox, having not seen her coming, tightly around the middle, and without thinking, pulled him in for a kiss, a full and proper one.

Kani, despite being caught off guard, did not resist. There was some laughter and teasing from the onlookers at this, but they both ignored it, knowing that it was only in jest, and they didn't care at any rate. Finally, Adah pulled out of the kiss, leaving Kani a little stunned, and possibly a little lovesick.

"Adah!" he cried back once his lips were available for speaking again, and grinned "Good to see you too!"

Then, after a spilt second of hesitation, he kissed her back, this time going for even more passionate kiss than Adah, now that he was better prepared for it. Adah lost track of time during this kiss, and the rest of the world seemed to just fade away into the background. When they finally pulled apart again, Adah, not wanting the moment to end, pulled Kani back in for a hug, not wanting to ever let the male fox go again.

"Kani, I'm so glad to have you back, I was starting to fear the worse," she whispered to him, so overcome with emotions that she was crying now, and it wasn't just in happiness, "Methusael had sent a mercenary to murder you, and…"

"I know, I took care of that, she won't be bothering anyone else anymore," Kani interrupted to promise with a whisper into her ear.

Adah knew there was more that needed to be said, though. "Kani, I'm sorry, for everything that has happened to you, and for what I've done, not helping at all."

"Shh, it's okay, it's not your fault," Kani assured her, the lull of his voice indeed soothing her, "Moroni told me a little bit about what you've been through. I don't blame you for anything."

Adah knew what Moroni could've told Kani was only part of the story, though, and felt a pang of guilt sink into her heart. "Not for those things, no."

Kani pulled away a little bit to give her an odd look for this comment. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Adah didn't want to ruin the moment, however, to not ruin Kani's happiness, nor his trust in her. She vowed then and there to not tell the full truth, and knew that if things went as she anticipated they would from here on out, it could be done.

"Nothing," she quickly assured him, "It doesn't matter now," she grinned and hugged him again, "All that matters now is that you're back."

"That," Kani agreed, and then looked up at Midnight Castle standing on it's plateau in the distance, "and Methusael."

And then Adah, seeing his look, craving for vengeance, and following his gaze, knew that things for Kani would not be resolved, until Methusael was taken care of once and for all.

And her heart told her that this could be a problem, but for the moment, she forced herself to ignore it. She wanted to believe that nothing could possibly go wrong for a change.

* * *

The next hour or so, while the last of the sunlight was still of use, a minor celebration was held to commemorate Kani's return. During this, Adah was introduced to some of the creatures Kani had brought with him to help. Some of them were, unsurprisingly, inhabitants from the rumored Redwall. One of them was Mathoni, which Adah now got the chance to meet, seeing that she didn't get to the last time the young otter had come through the area. He and Kani had become quite friendly.

Other Redwallers included a young mouse named Charles, a fully-grown otter named Skipper Rowe, two otter twins that were between Mathoni's and Skipper Rowe's age named Tobias and Illia that were humorous and friendly, as well as a smattering of others. There was also a small army of uniformed creature of a whole variety of species that wore copper-colored armor, being led by a shy, fully-grown ottermaid named Melody. They were apparently not a part of the Redwallers, and were actually part of a larger army called the Quorum of Warriors. Kani didn't really want to get detailed about how they ended up helping too, though, and promised to tell the story later. He wanted to get on with the more important matters.

So it wasn't long before Moroni proclaimed the festivities over for now, and gathered together the important creatures to work out their plans, particularly the plan Adah, Bluejay, and Mordecai had come up with, which Moroni had finally been told. He had then taken it and expanded it, and was now ready to tell it to Kani and the others.

"First off, our plans are somewhat sketchy," he began explaining as a disclaimer, "Before your arrival here, we had enough forces to equal the forces of the royal guard Methusael has under his control, enough to keep them bottled up and at bay, but there was some doubt about whether or not there was enough to defeat Methusael altogether. We believe that it is quite likely that we can get most, if not all, of the royal guard to side with us with little show of force if the opportunity was presented to them, but I wasn't about to bank on that. Besides, information presented to us by Mordecai, Bluejay, and Mistress Adah have indicated that Methusael has members of the royal guard that are loyal to only him."

"However," he continued, now turning his audience's attention to the plans of Midnight Castle that had been prepared, "now that you have all appeared, and added significantly to our numbers, we don't really need to worry about any of that anymore. In fact, we can just about charge the castle from anywhere now, and not have to worry so much about the tide turning against us. We have far too many things going our way. However, it was decided that the best place to start any attack on the castle, would be to start here," he tapped a claw on the location, "The barracks for the royal guard."

Kani picked up the plans and studied the location for a moment. Adah, who hadn't left Kani's side since the moment he returned, looked as well. Finally, Kani nodded in agreement, apparently seeing something of significance that Adah did not. "Yes, I see. Very good idea, captain."

"Well, I don't see," Moroni confessed, standing beside Kani's chair, "Why th' barracks?"

Skipper Rowe had a logical answer. "First rule of any invasion Mathoni is t' make sure that ye make sure th' enemy's forces are preoccupied an' out of th' picture as much as possible. Strikin' at that enemy's barracks is a smart move in that case."

"I fail to see the significance, however," Melody commented, "The castle is under siege, and it's inhabitants know it. Most of those forces are going to be on guard throughout the castle, particularly at its perimeter, to insure that we really _don't _try to invade."

"You're right, but hitting the barracks first would still be a good move," Kani persisted.

"His lordship is right," Moroni confirmed with a nod, knowing what Kani was thinking that everyone else couldn't see, "We estimate that easily as many as a third of the royal guard's forces will be in the barracks at any given time. Methusael has been rotating them on shifts, to prevent any number of them being out on duty for too long. To do otherwise would have resulted in a mutiny by now, the very last thing Methusael needs."

"So we strike at the barracks and capture a third of the royal guard, that only leaves two thirds left to deal with," the mouse named Charles reasoned, starting to see, "And with most of them quite likely being ready to surrender without a fight, that would leave Methusael virtually defenseless," he nodded, understanding, "Yes, this will work."

Adah, however, still had her doubts. She knew Methusael, and she feared what the fox might do when he became that cornered. Nothing was impossible with Methusael. She feared for her safety, for the members of the rebellion's safety, and above all, for Kani's safety. One of the big reasons she had gotten so clingy to Kani. She knew he didn't particularly like that, and couldn't blame him, but she had a bad feeling all over whenever the subject of this proposed plan to end it all came up.

"It can't be that simple, though," she objected, drawing a glance from Kani.

"I think it will be that simple, Adah," he promised, defending the plan, then turned back to the others, "However, there are a few minor problems left to deal with still. Like, how are we going to attack the barracks? That portion of the castle faces the mountainside, leaving little room for large parties to maneuver around. Furthermore, we're bound to attract attention, just trying to reach that area, as we will have to approach the castle from the main entrance, as that is the only practical means of getting up on the ledge the castle sits upon."

"All very good points," Moroni agreed, "I think what we'll need is a group of forces that could come forward and distract the forces at the front of the castle, long enough for the rest of us to attack the barracks."

"It can't be too big of a force, however," one of the otter twins, Tobias, pointed out, "If it is, then they'll only pull every creature they got t' deal with th' threat at their gates."

"Leavin' any attack on th' barracks virtually pointless as there won't be anybeast there," his twin sister, Illia, agreed.

Moroni acknowledged these comments. "Agreed again. But it can't be too little, or they won't give the attack enough attention. And the mice would probably just be taken for granted by now."

"It's not the mice Methusael is going to want to fight anymore, anyway," Kani pointed out, "It's going to be me. He has to know I'm here again."

"Yes, but your lordship, I would prefer you help attack the barracks with the others," Moroni said, clearly not liking that chain of thought Kani had been obviously been toying with.

Kani saw it. "So you can keep an eye on my and guarantee the safety of your lord?"

Moroni did not provide an answer. He didn't want to argue with Kani, particularly over this matter, but he knew what needed to be done, and he wanted Kani to help attack barracks for exactly those reasons. And Adah was in full support of that. She feared what Methusael might do to Kani if the two encountered each other. Though, at the rate things were going, such an encounter might be destined, and thereby unavoidable. The only problem Adah had with that was the fact that she honestly did not know what the end results of that encounter might be. She greatly feared what they could be.

"I suppose I and the Quorum of Warriors can create the distraction," Melody offered suddenly, changing the subject, "I am missing half of my forces anyway, as half of them are at Redwall Abbey by now, insuring the former followers arrive there safely."

"I like that idea, mate, just by being strangers an' ye're showin' up at their gates should be distraction enough," Skipper Rowe said, showing support of the idea.

"Just be a threat enough to keep them distracted, but don't overwhelm them to the point that they need help," Kani instructed.

"Nor let _yourselves _be overwhelmed and start getting yourselves killed," Charles added seriously.

Moroni continued sorting out the rest of the plan, pointing at the map of the castle as needed along the way. "Once the distraction is underway, the rest of us will hurry over and attack the barracks before word of the attack has had adequate time to reach them. Half of us will attack from the front edge of the barracks through a series of windows located here. The other half will force entry into the castle itself, and cut off the barracks only other exit, here. Once that is done, we'll spread out through the castle, overpowering what remains of the royal guard, get them to stand down with as little fight as possible. With a little luck, we'll have control of the castle in a matter of moments with little fighting."

"That just leaves Methusael," Mathoni remarked.

"He's mine," Kani growled at this point, the very thing Adah feared he would say. But one look at his face and she knew that there would be no way he could be talked out of this. He had made his choice. "Once he has lost control of the royal guard, he'll be defenseless, but ready to fight. I plan to give him that fight," he glanced up at the others, "Alone."

And to Adah's dismay, no one disputed the request. She wanted someone to, to get Kani to forget Methusael and leave him to someone else, but she knew that it wasn't going to happen. Kani wouldn't let it happen. Methusael was his. And he had every right to him, Adah knew it. She just feared what Methusael would do…or say.

"Then it's settled," Moroni declared when no one else spoke up, "We'll attack before dawn."


	22. Incursion

Nearing closer to the end. Things come to a head, and a cliffhanger, in this chapter.

22.

"Incursion"

The hours before dawn was then spent preparing for what everyone knew would be, one way or another, the final conflict. For Adah, it was very tense, because she started to imagine every worse-case-scenario outcomes possible for the conflict. A lot of them ended with Kani dying. Others ended with Methusael somehow emerging victorious, even though that seemed very unlikely by this point. And others still ended with everything ending happily for everyone…

…except herself.

Because the thought had crossed her mind that Methusael, in his desperation to try and escape the corner he was slowly being driven into, might tell the truth. About who did what. About who killed who. And the truth about herself. And that would just ruin…everything. Things were so close to working out, Adah wanted it to stay that way. She didn't want Methusael to mess up her life yet again, not when it was so close to getting sorted out again.

She would later despise herself for such selfish thinking. It hadn't been worth it in the end.

But until then, she was determined that she was going to be a part of this conflict, somehow convincing herself that by being there, she could help prevent things from going wrong. She went right to Moroni and implored him to let her participate in the last battle. Moroni, however, while supporting her enthusiasm and want to help, turned her down, saying that this would be no place for her to be. Kani, the next creature she turned to, thought the same, but was even more adamant about it than Moroni had been. It seemed that just as Adah was afraid something would happen to Kani, Kani was afraid something would happen to her, and wanted her as far away from this conflict as could be managed.

Still, Adah was adamant that she be some part of the force, _any _part of the force, just so long as she was present for the incursion of the castle. She even went as far to reason that should it come to a fight, she'd be useful to have around because she knew how to navigate around the castle. Kani argued that Bluejay or Mordecai could just as easily do the same thing, meaning that it didn't have to be _her_. But Moroni thought it was an adequate enough reason, and seeing that she was volunteering, he agreed. He placed her as second-in-command to a party of forces that Amulek was to command. They were to wait further down the path from Midnight Castle while the others began the incursion. They were to watch the situation from afar and either jump in and provide support should it come to an armed conflict, or help getting the royal guard to stand down if things went as planned when they were let in from the inside.

It was about as far from the action and still be a part of the action one could get, but seeing how much effort it took to just get that far, Adah jumped on the chance, and did not argue. Amulek protested, not seeing the use of the vixen being second-in-command to him, but like it often was, he couldn't win an argument against Moroni, and eventually resigned to his fate. He did ask that Adah kept out of the way and not give any commands, saying he had to die first before Adah could take charge of the forces they led. Adah, despite being slightly offended by Amulek's lack of trust in her, agreed.

Finally, the time to try and takeover the castle came, just before dawn as Moroni had stated it would. Everyone assumed positions. The royal guard protecting the castle didn't seem to suspect much. Melody and her Quorum of Warriors moved in first to provide the distraction, armed, and ready to fire, but were given order to not start attacking unless the royal guard attacked first. But the royal guard, while reacting to newcomers by arming themselves and preparing for battle, also did not attack, probably having similar orders. So, in short, no one fire. They just stood there, staring at each other.

Amulek found it very funny. He called it the 'world's largest staring contest' and jokingly wondered who'd blink first. Adah, feeling very tense, didn't find it that funny.

Once the Quorum of Warriors were adequately distracting the guards stationed at the front of the castle, Kani, Moroni, and their mixed forces moved in alongside the castle to the side that faced the mountainside, where the barracks were. Once they had vanished behind the castle, it was next to impossible to know what was going on until battle either broke out, or the front gates were opened to let them in. Time passed tensely as they waited for the results. Little happened during that time. Adah was beyond anxious as she waited, and was trying her hardest to keep still. Amulek was anxious as well, but he managed it a whole lot better than Adah did. Seeing Adah struggle, he sought something to say to keep her calm.

"They're bound to be inside the castle by now," he pointed out, "If it was going to come down to a fight, we would've heard it by now. They're probably just gotten held up letting us in."

"Yes, probably," Adah agreed, trying to force herself to relax, "I'm just…worried. If this doesn't work out…"

"Hey, Moroni has pulled off much zanier ideas than this before and we all got out of it okay. No reason this shouldn't work out either. Besides, no one has fired on our little group of diversionaries yet."

He pointed at the castle. Sure enough, the so-called "staring contest" continued. Adah wasn't reassured, however. There was more to her worries than the progress of the incursion. She knew that it was probably working out alright herself. It was Kani she was worried about.

"I do wonder if they can keep this up for much longer," Amulek continued, watching the Quorum of Warriors and the royal guard stare each other down, "It must be unnerving to be practically staring each other down for so long."

Adah groaned, realizing that if it got too tense, a conflict over nothing could be very easy to set off without warning. Amulek, realizing this, fell silent. A few more moments passed, then they noticed movement occurring on the balcony that overhang the front gates. Shouts could be quickly heard following thereafter among the royal guard. It was hard to tell what was happening per say from here but they must have stood down, because the Quorum of Warriors suddenly and visibly relaxed. Not long thereafter, the front gates opened to permit them entrance, finally giving Adah and Amulek an excuse to relax.

"Well, there you go!" Amulek declared as they led their troops up towards the castle to enter, "They're standing down. And not with a shot fired, it looks like!"

"Good," Adah said with a heavy sigh, hurrying to keep up "Maybe Methusael will also give up without a fight then."

"I don't know, Methusael has worked pretty hard to get this far. Something tells me he isn't going to just give up."

The idea frightened Adah. That was not what she wanted to hear. "I hope not, because that would mean someone would have to fight him."

"Like Lord Kani," Amulek blinked, and gave Adah a teasing smirk. It was no longer any kind of secret that she and Kani had feelings for each other. "Is that it? You think your boyfriend can't handle such a fight?"

Adah felt her face flush in embarrassment, but the comment also angered her slightly. She knew that Kani was an excellent warrior, and seeing that things had gone this smoothly thus far, she figured Kani could fight such a fight and win easily.

It wasn't the fight she was worried about, though.

"No, I think Kani is more than a match for Methusael," she told Amulek confidently.

Amulek's face fell at this in puzzlement. "Then…I don't understand. What are you so worried about?"

Adah did not reply. Amulek didn't need to know about what it was that she was truly worried about. But if Methusael did what Adah feared he would, tell the truth, then the time would probably come.

All she could hope was that it didn't come to that.

Once inside the castle, Adah helped going around spreading the word that the royal guard were to stand down. Thus far, everyone of them had done so, and no one had been injured yet (save Amulek, who stubbed his toe in the dark corridors). It was heartening to see this. Adah's worries were gradually starting to diminish. It looked like things were going to work out okay.

But then she learned that Kani had somehow vanished, and now couldn't be found again. Thinking he had crossed paths with Methusael, who was also not to be found, armed parties were sent out to find him. Becoming very worried again, Adah started asking around everywhere if anyone had any idea where the fox was at. Few knew. Most hadn't even seen him since the raid of the castle had begun. Moroni wasn't even sure when and where exactly Kani had left the group.

Finally, Adah got word that signs of a struggle had been found in the upper levels of the castle, near what was once Kani's study before Methusael's coup. Realizing exactly where both foxes had to be at, probably dueling it out as they spoke, Adah forgot her current responsibilities, and rushed up for the study. She wasn't sure what she would do when she got there, but she felt that she needed to be there.

She encountered few in her hurry to get up there, and everything was peaceful there, up until she reached the corridor that would eventually lead to the study. Here, she found signs of battle, and as many as seven members of the royal guard lay dead, with another seven more either injured or unconscious, leaving one that was conscious already, but was being bound by another member of the royal guard. Realizing these defeated creatures were part of Methusael's personal forces, Adah realized that Kani _had _came through here, with a fury, it seemed, and hurried on.

She mounted the staircase and into the corridor beyond in time to see a party of creatures exit the study. One of them was Mathoni. The other, looking worn, tired, and depressed, but otherwise appearing to be overall unhurt, was Kani.

"Kani!" Adah exclaimed, and ran up to the startled fox and grabbed him in a hug, planting a quick kiss on his cheek in the process, "_Here _you are! I was starting to worry! I thought something had happened! Did you find Methusael?"

"Yes," was Kani's numb response. He seemed in a daze, as well as in deep thought.

This worried Adah. Trying to not let it show, she urged Kani for more details. "And?"

"He's dead," Mathoni replied for Kani.

Adah's heart soared with relief. "Oh good," she said, but she knew that there was one more thing she needed to ask first, "Did he, uh, tell you anything?"

"Only that he wasn't the one who carried out the deed that killed my family," Kani replied flatly.

Adah's heart sank just as quickly as it had leapt up. Methusael _had _told the truth, or at least hinted towards it. Now it had left Kani pondering for answers. Adah tensed up, and realized that maybe here wasn't a good place to be. She should do something, something to put Kani at ease, here and now…

But before she could, Moroni suddenly turned up. "Kani!" he exclaimed as he hurried up, also relieved to see Kani all right, "There you are! I've been looking all over for you!"

"Hello captain," Kani greeted weakly.

"I don't know if you heard, your lordship," Moroni continued, "But we caught the two vermin mercenaries. I took the liberty of interrogating them, they're the only two that were left."

Adah felt her heart sink even lower in her chest, if that were even possible. They _caught _Sais and Grim? Adah's heart fluttered anxiously as this unforeseen outcome assailed her mind. What could those two vermin tell them?

"Anything else?" Kani inquired as the group walked on, everyone matching Kani's idle speed.

"Just how they stayed in contact with Methusael. By messenger. We're searching now for any clues of who it might be, but I'm honestly not too hopeful. All we know about this creature was that the species is fox, and that it's a she."

Adah was sure her heart stopped at this, and she looked at Kani's face anxiously. He paused, looking very surprised.

"A she?" he repeated, and stopped suddenly to think.

Adah was on the verge of panicking. Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no…

Kani was silent as he processed all of this information. All eyes were on him. To Adah, the world had gone suddenly silent. It was like it was holding it's breath, waiting to see what Kani would come up with. One could literally see the gears turning in his head. Then, suddenly, Kani's expression narrowed into a glare, and Adah saw his eyes flicker in her direction.

The next thing she knew, she was pinned to the wall with a blade at her throat.

"_It was you!_" Kani exclaimed in her face, "_You killed my family!_"


	23. A Punishment Of Life

And here we are, my favorite chapter of the whole story, the chapter that inspired the whole work, the chapter that made all the rest of the story worth writing, the chapter that turned out better than it's "Warrior of Redwall" cousin.

Obviously, I'm pretty pleased with this chapter. :P

Only one more chapter after this one, when things go full circle, then we're done.

23.

"A Punishment Of Life"

Adah had longed feared what would happen when this moment would come. She had envisioned a whole bunch of fairly messy outcomes. She could envision the expressions of every creature when they found out the truth of her guilt. She could imagine just how betrayed and heartbroken Kani should feel when he found it.

But never once did she stop to wonder how she would feel when the truth was finally revealed.

And she found that she felt…oddly at peace.

She couldn't understand why. She was pinned to a wall with a very sharp blade being pressed at her neck, still stained with the blood of the last creature it had slain. Kani was staring her down with an expression that was hurt, betrayed, and enraged all at that same time. But mostly hurt. The expressions of everyone else where just simply puzzled, doubting, but slowly realizing that it was completely plausible.

And yet, Adah stood there, feeling at peace.

As she was dimly aware of the onlookers questioning Kani's claims and Kani providing a rock-solid argument for his accurate deductions, she wondered if her sudden feelings of calm and peace had something to do with the fact that something she had been keeping secret for nearly two seasons now had finally come to light. They were secret no more. Adah no longer needed to be constantly wondering if she tell those secrets, how she should tell them, when she should tell them, to who, and above all, why. It had finally been done for her. She didn't have to worry about it anymore. A weight had been lifted from her, that she no longer had to carry.

She felt enlightened.

But for what price?

They now knew.

Everything.

That she was a traitor.

And a murderer.

She had betrayed them all.

That was the price.

And then, without warning, Adah completely broke down.

"It's true! It's true, all of it is true! I was the messenger! And I killed them, I killed them both, I am the one with their blood on my paws! I killed them both, both Master Hax and Lady Grinta! I killed them!"

She started repeating this over and over again as she wailed with tears, purposely avoiding Kani's gaze, not wanting to see the expression of betrayal that would be etched upon it. She was afraid if she did…she would see Hax…just before he died.

"_Why_?" Kani finally asked, finding his voice.

"It was Methusael, it was always Methusael! I…I stumbled onto what he was doing as far back as last winter! I tried to tell someone what he was doing, but Methusael caught up with me! Said he planned to insure his little secret didn't get out, even if it meant killing me! But I didn't care, I was willing to die for this, knowing that Methusael could never adequately explain away how I had died! But he knew that, too, and was really hoping to find someway to get me to stay silent and side with him, to help him! I should've seen what he was doing to me then and there, but I didn't! So when he threatened to kill you Kani, then and there, I…I…"

"Wait, you mean to say that you killed _them _to try and protect _me_?"

Adah nodded, and kept going. A part of her wanted to stop talking, but she couldn't find the willpower to stop. It was time the truth came out.

"It almost tore me apart to do it! It nearly drove me mad to kill them, to go against everything I believed in, just to do it! In fact, at times I wondered if I really _did _go mad! Particularly after I stabbed Hax. Kani, that was the hardest thing I have ever done! I didn't want to do that to him, or cause _you _such grief, you should know that much! I only wish I could've done it as fast as painlessly for him as possible, but Methusael wouldn't stand for it! He wanted the death slow and purposeful! He…he was taking great pleasure in my discomfort, I know it! And he got it, plagues and pestilence, he got it! It tore me apart, to see Hax lying there, bleeding to death, growing weak, the most painful look of betrayal on his face…"

Adah suddenly felt a claw gently press against her lips, and she instantly went silent, suddenly in control of her emotions. She glanced up at Kani, her eyes finally locking with his, and understood. He didn't want to hear the details about those deaths. He knew enough already. He didn't need to know more. Adah didn't blame him.

They looked at each other for a moment, both suddenly calm. For a spilt second, Adah realized they both were having a moment of understanding between them. But just as quickly as it had come, it vanished again. And at that moment, Adah knew it would never be coming back, and the guilt started to return.

"I didn't want to do it, Kani," she said, looking away again as she stated the very reason she had done what she had done, a reason she had denied even to herself up until now. "But I was left with little other choice. It was either them…or you…and of the three, it was you I could stand to see you die the least."

"And what made my life more important than theirs?" The slowness and deliberateness in which Kani said it only added more guilt to Adah's burden, "What made it any more right to kill them?"

Adah felt tears starting to burn at the corners of her eyes again. She didn't do anything to stop them from falling. "I love you, Kani. I…I couldn't bare to see anything happen to you as a result. I…I thought this would genuinely be the only way to insure that."

"_But it didn't work_. Methusael tried to have me killed anyway, and he _nearly succeeded_!"

"I know, and that was my wake up call! It was around then that I realized just how much Methusael was manipulating me, and didn't intend to carry out any promises! That's when I switched sides! I…I…I had hoped that after helping Captain Moroni and you take back the castle that Methusael would automatically be presumed guilty for the deaths of Master Hax and Lady Grinta, and that would be the end of the matter, and life would continue as normal, but…it was too much to hope for. I…I…should've know it was too much to hope for…"

She knew now that she had always been disillusioning herself telling herself that this could've worked out well for everyone. Except Methusael, of course.

There was a momentary pause. Kani chose his next words slowly and carefully.

"If you had truly loved me, you wouldn't have done this."

Adah agreed completely with this, and through her renewed tears, nodded empathically. She made eye contact with Kani again, looking into his eyes, and wondered suddenly what Kani was thinking. She decided she probably had a pretty good idea.

"You probably think I'm a monster for this, don't you?"

Now Kani looked away, unable to maintain eye contact. He probably did it to protect Adah from the truth, to spare her that much, but it didn't work. Adah knew that the truth needed to come out anyway. She knew what Kani thought.

He did indeed think she was a monster for what she did.

"I knew it," she murmured, and looked away herself. Oddly, she found the idea relatively easy to come to peace with. "I knew you would think that. There were so many times during which I was so tempted to tell you the truth then and there…but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I knew what you would think of me. And I didn't want that."

"Because you always had a way of cheering me up."

The irony of Kani's words only added salt to the wound for them both. Adah couldn't help but nod in agreement to the statement though, as it was perfectly accurate, nonetheless. They all fell silent for several long moments, everyone reacting in slightly different, but still similar ways. Adah was only really aware of Kani, though, and realized that the truth had cut him deep. Possibly deeper than any murder of a family member ever could. Adah's heart grieved under the responsibility it was forced to carry for it, creating great pain. More pain than any normal, physical injury could cause. Adah wasn't sure she could bear to live with it for the rest of her life.

Which reminded her of another subject that needed to be addressed. And knew it could not be avoided.

She didn't want it to be avoided.

Law was law.

And she decided that in this instance, it was working in her favor.

"Just make it quick, Kani," she pleaded in a whisper, closing her eyes and raising her head to better expose her throat to the blade still pressed to it, ready for death to come, "That is all I ask."

Kani sounded stunned by this. "Adah…"

"I can't live like this, Kani. Not while I know what I have done. What pain and suffering I, alone, am responsible for. Furthermore, it is the law. And I deserve nothing less, either way."

Even though her eyes were closed, she knew Kani was staring at her, torn over his options. She could feel it. Adah didn't think too much about it though. Instead, she forced herself to be calm, to prepare herself for the death she knew must soon follow. It was the law. And she accepted that. Again she found herself feeling surprisingly calm, even though she could feel her pulse beating harshly through her body, echoing loudly as her blood pulsed through her ears. She was consciously aware of her chest rising and falling as she breathed, her lungs filling with air on every inhale, and emptying again on every exhale. She felt her tongue, feeling heavy and dense, loll around in her dry mouth. She felt her heart thump against her ribs, feel beads of sweat prickle against her brow, making it itch. She felt her stomach suddenly choose now of all times to rumble, reminding her that it was empty. She felt her tail swish between her legs. The fur prickle up and down her body like a cold breeze had blown by, when nothing of the sort had happened. She was suddenly aware of everything her body did to keep her alive.

She realized that in a moment, all of that would suddenly stop.

The thought frightened her.

But she was prepared for it.

She sensed Kani shift positions, and knowing it had to be soon, braced her self. Kani inhaled a breath of air in preparation to speak:

"I always did dislike that law."

And before Adah could fully realize what had happened, Kani removed the blade from her throat without harming her at all, and let the sword drop to his side. Adah looked at Kani in surprise, not expecting at all for Kani to make this choice. She watched as Kani took a step backwards, looking her up and down, studying her. He then squeezed his eyes shut suddenly, and lowered his head, before finally turning his back to her.

Adah brought a paw up to her neck just to double check it was all right. She felt blood, but it was cold and sticky, turning dry. It wasn't hers, but Methusael's. She was all right and alive. But…why? She didn't understand. Why was Kani doing this to her? Stunned, she let herself fall to her knees as she stared at Kani's back. Finally, he spoke again, to speak to her for what Adah had decided would be the last time.

"Get out of here, Adah. Leave Angola. Now. And never show your face here again."

Adah just continued to stare at Kani. Why was he doing this? She just didn't understand. She didn't want _this_. Why was he doing this to her? As she slowly rose to her footpaws again, she continued to stare at Kani, hoping for an explanation. She longed to see his face, to try and determine some kind of explanation or clues for his choice of actions. But Kani kept his back firmly turned to her.

She realized Kani wasn't going to give her the benefit of seeing his face again.

Suddenly she felt very cold, and understood Kani's intent. Breaking her eyes away from Kani finally, she glanced at the others, who were staring at her stunned. Adah opened her mouth at one point, like she had something to say, but no words, or any sound of any kind, came out. Then, without warning, she spun around and ran down the corridor as fast as she could go, footpaws pounding against the stone floor hard as she ran. Tears sprang back to her eyes, but she completely ignored them as she ran, trying to put together a list in her head of the barest minimum of things she would need to leave Angola.

Now.

And to never return.

As she ran, heading ever deeper into the castle, she was confident she could hear Kani's cries of anguish from here.

* * *

She stopped only once on her mad dash, and that was at Methusael's old study. It happened to be along her way. The only reason she stopped there was to collect one item she somehow knew would be there. And she was right; hidden a desk drawer that only took seconds to find was a cloak.

Her cloak.

The one she had been wearing the day she murdered Hax, and Methusael had later confiscated to use as evidence against her if it ever came to that.

Turned out it had never been needed for that after all.

Grabbing it, and pulling the still-bloodstained garment over her shoulders as she ran, Adah ran for the castle's front gates. She of course passed several creatures along the way, several of which called out to her as she ran, trying to stop her, asking what was wrong, why she was running. But she stopped for none of them, and gave none of them any kind of answer. They would all find out the truth soon enough.

She finally arrived at the front gates, still hanging open from when they had been opened earlier, and Adah burst out of them still running as fast as she could. Her claws digging into the gravely turf outside, she sped down the path that went down from the plateau the castle was perched upon, down one side of the mountain, and into the valley in which the village sat.

She was dimly aware that the sun had risen since she had been outside last, and now cast an orange-yellow glow across the land. She was sure that if this was any other day, it would've looked beautiful. But at the moment, she cursed the beauty.

It was part of her punishment.

She entered the village suddenly without realizing it, still running at full tilt. The pace was starting to become tiresome. Her leg muscles burned with the exertion. Her lungs ached with the effort to keep drawing in fresh breaths of air. Her heart was pumping so hard now it felt like it might burst. But Adah did not slow.

There was little need to.

Like in the castle, she passed many creatures as she ran, and like those in the castle, many tried to hail her and ask what was wrong. A couple even started to follow her, determined to get their answers. But like before, Adah gave them nothing but the fleeting image of her running determinedly on. She knew they would find out the truth soon enough.

The thought occurred to her that she was in no way prepared for a long journey out of the land. All she would have would be herself and the clothes on her back. The odds of her lasting long on such a sudden and ill-prepared journey were not good. But she decided that would simply have to be sufficient. She couldn't bear to stay here long enough to run out of here anymore, much less stay to get more supplies.

Like food.

Who needed food in a situation like this, though?

It seemed very trivial in comparison.

After what felt like hours of running, but was actually far less, Adah reached the borders of Angola. Those that had been following her finally slowed and let her go, not willing to chase her out of the land. Adah thanked them for that much. This was something she needed to do, and not them.

Because this was her punishment.

A punishment worse than death.

A punishment of life.

It was the worse blow Kani could have ever given her.

And Adah knew it would forever tear Kani apart to have need to do it.

Just like it would forever tear her apart to be subjected to it.

She ran into the woods, oddly feeling sheltered here. This was a good thing. It was going to have to serve as home for quite awhile now. She kept running on, immune to the pain and stress this was now giving her body. If she dropped dead from overexerting herself, it would be a blessing. But she knew that with her luck, that would never happen. She would simply be leaving Angola far, far, behind.

Even though she knew she would never set paw in that land again, she never once looked back.


	24. Eventide

Last chapter, ties back with the prologue/first chapter from the beginning to wrap things up, covering a few final loose ends I wanted addressed. It's a fairly short and simple chapter. Anyway, here it is, and thanks to all very few of you who read this fanfic on through to the end. :)

24.

"Eventide"

It was very late at night by the time Adah had finished her lengthy tale. Their fire was starting to die, the flames retreating into the cooler red coals. The bottle of ale sat on the ground, long forgotten. The vixen, done speaking, lowered her head and stared into the flames. Grump wasn't sure if she expected him to say anything, or to just stay silent. If the latter, then that might just work out. It wasn't in Grump's nature to stay silent, but in this case he was at a loss for words, knowing there couldn't be anything he could say to this creature to comfort her.

She hadn't been kidding when she said it wasn't a happy tale. It certainly wasn't. Furthermore, it was a less happy tale than what Grump had been expecting. Like Adah, he hadn't been kidding when he had said he knew of worse. He really did, and worse still, had been witness to some of them. But Adah's story probably ranked right up there with the worse of them.

The silence continued, until finally, fed up with the silence, Grump solemnly said the one thing he knew he could.

"I'm sorry."

Adah snorted at this. "A lot of good that'll do me."

The silence resumed after that. Grump poked a stick into the coals of the fire to pass the time, trying to think of what else he could possibly say. He started to get a vague idea, but wasn't sure how he should bring the subject up. Realizing suddenly just how very late it was, he peered up at the sky, noting the positions of the stars. Doing some mental calculations, he realized that it was late enough into the evening that midnight had passed by easily a couple of hours ago. Dawn would be coming soon.

"It's gittin' late," he remarked finally, drawing Adah's attention, "I s'pose we should be gittin' some sleep."

He reached into his sack a pulled out the two blankets he usually slept with. After a momentary pause, he offered one to Adah. The vixen hesitated a moment, then accepted the rolled-up cloth, setting it in her lap and running a paw over the soft fabric.

As Grump unrolled the remaining blanket down onto the ground, he pondered what to say next, and ultimately decided to just say it. "There's a small village not far from 'ere. Lots of experienced travelers pass through it. I'll take yeh t' it in th' mornin'. We'll git yeh some supplies an'…an' stuff."

Adah was silent for a moment. Grump thought for a moment that she was going to turn down the offer, which would be entirely her choice, but Grump didn't like the idea of leaving her out here on her own in this state. She deserved better. At the very least, a second chance at life. But finally, Adah nodded in agreement.

"Okay," she stated simply, unrolling the blanket finally, placing it on the ground, and curling up into a ball upon it.

How quickly she fell asleep Grump didn't know. But what the traveling stoat did know that it was sometime still before he managed to get to sleep.

* * *

They both slept in the following morning, due to staying up so late, but not as long as one would think, as it was only about mid-morning before they both arose, Adah rising before Grump. They dined on a simple breakfast that Grump provided as they sat around the dead fire, which neither of them bother to relight. They didn't talk much while they ate, only speaking the barest minimum of words.

Finally, once they were done eating, Grump packed up his things, and led the way across the land towards this village he had alluded to. Adah silently followed him. Time passed, and the day wore on. The sun rose higher, heating the earth for what was proving to be one of the last hot days of the season. Not long into the trek, both creatures were shedding their cloaks in an attempt to try and keep cool. Grump eyed the cloak Adah had slung over her shoulder, and saw that it indeed bore very old bloodstains upon it. He simply hadn't noticed them before in the darkness of the previous night.

His thoughts wandered back through Adah's story, thinking through certain aspects.

"Y'know, yeh should've told him 'bout th' murders," the stoat announced suddenly.

Adah snapped out of the glazed state she had been for the past several moments lost in thought to look at him. "What do you mean?"

"When yeh told yer fox friend the truth," Grump repeated, "Just before he banished yeh. He didn't let yeh talk about th' murders of his family members."

"Of course he didn't," Adah hung her head, "It was too painful for him."

"But wot if he did?" Grump glanced back at her, "'Cause I think yeh're innocent. At the very least, yeh didn't deserve this fate. Yeh were tricked into both o' those murders. If yeh hadn't been, yeh wouldn't 'ave been responsible fer 'em. An' I think yer fox friend would've seen that, if he let yeh talk 'bout it."

Adah looked at him forlornly for a long moment. "It doesn't really matter now, though, does it?"

Grump sighed. "No, I s'pose not."

They continued walking in silence for several moments.

"Where are yeh gonna go after we reach th' village?" the stoat asked after a few moments, changing the subject.

"Away," was Adah's only response.

"Away t' where?"

"I don't know. Just…away. I don't really have anyplace _to _go."

"So, wot, yeh plan on just goin' 'round like this forever?"

"If necessary, yes."

Grump stared at her, and her stubbornness. She was beating herself up still over this matter, when he felt she had little need to keep doing so. "Well, that's no way t' live, a pretty thing like yeh needs t'…"

"How much further until we reach the village?"

Grump frowned at the interruption, but let the subject drop. Adah clearly didn't want to discuss the matter. She had made up her mind.

"Not far," he promised, and fell silent as he continued to lead the way.

* * *

As Grump had indicated it would be, it wasn't a big village. Really just a smattering of shops set up along a dirt path that headed further north. Most of the creatures that were in this village at any given moment were just travelers passing through. The only residents were the owners of the shops. Most of the creatures were vermin, but there were a smattering of rough-looking woodlanders. Despite it heading into evening now, the village was pretty active at the moment. They all more or less ignored Grump and the vixen that accompanied him, though, as was the usual tradition.

Grump led the way to a shop whose owner the stoat happened to know. He promised that he could get the supplies Adah needed from here. Adah opted to wait outside while he did that. It didn't take Grump long to get the supplies, but he hesitated to just bring out to Adah, as he knew the vixen would simply take them and walk off again. He assumed that was the only reason she had stuck with him for this long.

He had been tempted to, out of pure courtesy, to invite her to accompany him on his own journeys, so that she'd at least not be alone so much, but he knew that it would never work. They simply didn't see eye-to-eye on matters. Adah wanted to brew in her own guilt, whereas Grump wanted her to see her stop brewing and move on with life, something the vixen was convinced she wasn't ready for, and might possible decide she might never be ready for. Furthermore, he knew that the vixen wasn't entirely comfortable with his presence, and admittedly, he wasn't entirely comfortable with having her around either. They were just meant to part ways here.

But Grump wanted to at least see that the vixen ended up _somewhere _benefiting. So he came up with an alternate idea.

"Here, take this," he said, handing Adah a scrap of folded parchment when he handed over the supplies to her.

"What is it?" Adah asked, unfolding the parchment to look at it.

"It's a map, leadin' further north," Grump explained, "It'll point out all of th' villages, an' residential creatures, landmarks, an' th' such. I want yeh t' use it t' find some o' these places, an' visit 'em."

"Why?" Adah inquired.

"'Cause yeh need t' socialize more. Just goin' about avoidin' everybody just 'cause yeh've hit hard times ain't any way t' live. I mean, aye, yeh 'ave hit hard times, an' gone through things no creature ever should've. I ain't sayin' yeh should ignore that. But…don't yeh think yeh're goin' t' 'ave t' move on eventually?"

Adah thought about for a few moments in silence, and didn't answer for a long moment.

"But that would defeat the purpose of the punishment," Adah finally stated.

"I don't think yeh're fox friend meant for yeh t' be miserable for th' rest of yer life."

"If so, then he wouldn't have let me live."

Grump found he couldn't argue that point.

"Just…use th' map t' avoid walkin' into any swamps at th' very least, y' hear?" Grump finally stated.

Adah folded up the parchment and pocketed it, nodding. "All right," she agreed, and turned to go, "Goodbye, Grump. And thank you."

"Yeh're welcome, I s'pose," Grump stated, glancing at the sun that was already sinking into the horizon again, then shook his head, "Why are yeh doin' this t' yerself, anyway? Yeh're only rubbin' salt into a half-healed wound. Why not let it heal finally?"

"Because this is what Kani wanted me to do."

"Yeh don't know that, an' anyway, yeh aren't where he can guarantee yeh do anythin'. So why do it?"

"Because I always had a way of cheering Kani up."

Grump sighed, and decided he couldn't reason with that kind of logic. And anyway, it was clear that Adah had her mind made up. For her, there was no going back. "Yeh sure yeh want t' leave now? It's gettin' dark out. Yeh can stay 'ere for another night."

But, unsurprisingly to Grump, Adah refused. "No, I need to leave," she said, then again said, "Goodbye."

And with those final words, the last Grump ever saw of Mistress Eventide was her walking off into the woods, vanishing into the fading darkness of her namesake.


End file.
